“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
- Joshua 1:9 -
Courage is the key to life. It takes courage to be successful, achieve goals, and fulfill our destiny. Aristotle said: “You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.” Courage makes you unbeatable. It takes courage to win; to fight back against evil forces. Without courage you’ll live a lukewarm life. You’ll go nowhere and accomplish nothing. David Viscott said: “If you could get up the courage to begin, you have the courage to succeed.” It takes courage to master life, not be a victim of it. To succeed or fail is a choice we make. So be strong! Be courageous! Never give up! Press on! As Napoleon Bonaparte said: “Courage isn’t having the strength to go on, it is going on when you don’t have strength.”
Start your day with courage. When you wake up, start your day by meditating on the ultimate source of courage: the Lord your God! Remember His words to Joshua: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (1:9). All believers are commanded to be strong and courageous. But why? ‘Because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour’ (1 Pet. 5:8).
When we meditate on biblical courage, our attitudes, words, and actions will change. Know that the enemy is poised and ready to attack before we hop out of bed each day. So as soon as our eyes open, we should say with Paul that we are ‘strong in the Lord and in the power of His might’ (Eph. 6:10). If we think we’re strong and courageous, we’ll soon be strong and courageous, for ‘as a man thinks in his heart, so is he’ (Prov. 23:7).
We draw strength from God when we spend time with Him, preferably in the early hours. As David says: ‘O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You’ (Ps. 63:1). Before you do anything else, spend time with God. Draw your strength from Him, as the basis of courage is not how strong we are but our courage is God Himself! Lean on His strength. In Christ, we are stronger than we think. Don’t judge circumstances by how big the problem is, but judge a situation by how big God is! In Him there is no challenge we can’t overcome, nothing we can’t hurdle, no roadblock to hold us back.
God gave Israel the Promised Land but they still had to wage a war to possess it. This is why God said to be strong and courageous. But where is courage found? Where does it come from? It abides with those who have been with Jesus (Acts 4:13). The more time we spend with the Lord Christ, the more courage we have. This is why we need to rest in His presence all day, every day; not just on Sunday. Spend quality time with God and He grows bigger than any problem.
To David, God was far bigger than Goliath because the young shepherd boy had spent quality time with Him. Do the same and you’ll agree that ‘greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world’ (1 John 4:4). With faith and courage you’ll declare: ‘If God be for us, who can be against us?’ (Rom. 8:31). Courage gained from time with God will have you storming armies and pole-vaulting walls (Ps. 18:29). So seek the face of God, and when you find Him, there you will find courage.
We are called to live boldly, without fear, with Christ who is our strength. Jesus is in us, He’s for us, and He’s with us. He said He’ll never leave or forsake us. So what more do we need? Have the freedom to live without fear of failure. We are capable of amazing things in this life. All we have to do is trust God. He’ll do what He promised. There is God-given and God-ordained ability in us all. We can do far more with our life than we think when we truly know that we are in Christ and He in us. We need not fear giants if God is with us. The Bible calls us ‘more than conquerors’ (Rom. 8:37) for a reason. So run toward the giant and cut his stupid head off.
Courage is found in the company of other believers. And why? Because Jesus is found there: “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:20). If you truly seek courage, don’t forsake assembling with other believers (Heb. 10:25). Courage and strength come from Christian community, where ‘iron sharpens iron’ (Prov. 27:17). This is why Jesus said: “If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, My Father in heaven will do it for you” (Matt. 18:19). Courage abides in the church because Christ abides in community. The encouragement we need comes from other Christ-followers. Therefore Paul says: ‘Encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing’ (1 Thess. 5:11).
When we resolve that the will of God will be fulfilled in our lives, we find the courage to make it so. The apostles were beaten and told to abandon the gospel, so they prayed: “O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, Your servants, great boldness in preaching Your word” (Acts 4:29). Now that’s determination, and courage followed: ‘With great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus’ (4:33). They prayed for boldness despite the world’s demand for silence. They put God’s will above all else.
Are we determined to be the people God calls us to be? Are we resolved to do what God calls us to do? We must be determined and heed Paul’s advice to ‘take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm’ (Eph. 6:13). Courage abides where the Spirit is poured out. After the apostles prayed for courage, ‘the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness’ (Acts 4:31). Courage is to be treasured as without it we can’t practice any other Christian virtue consistently. But with it, there is no limit to our potential in Christ.
Courage is not the absence of fear, but the decision that what we (and God) want is far more important than our fear. John Wayne said: “Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.” General George Patton said: “Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.” So have the courage to take a chance, to step out the boat while others remain stuck their comfort zone. It takes uncommon courage to fully live the Christian life. As Thomas Jefferson said: “One man with courage is a majority.” Be that man. Lean on your great God and ask that He would embolden your walk with Christ, giving Him all the glory when our God-given potential is met.
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