Courage

Winston Churchill said- "Courage is the foremost of virtues, because upon it all others depend."

Think about that for a second. What are the other classic, Biblical virtues, and how do they depend on courage?

• Integrity. Yes, it takes courage to have integrity. You may risk losing a friend or being popular. 
• Honesty. Yes, it takes courage to be honest with yourself and others. You could risk offending someone or saying the wrong thing. 
• Patience. Oh yes, it DOES take courage to be patient. Waiting is not easy.  It takes courage to wait, especially to wait patiently. 

Fear, if we let it, can paralyze us and prevent us from doing what we KNOW is the right thing to do. Fear is a healthy emotion, but when we let our emotions stop there and live in fear, we stop living. Essentially, we can die in Christ, because we won't make the right choices. We won't step out in faith and take a virtuous risk. We just stand there, thinking about what could go wrong. 

This week's Tea time (yes I still need to post it), was about courage. It's been a week FULL of hints from God that I need to study courage and build my courage and trust more in Him as I step forward within His plan. Every time I opened my Bible there was a verse on courage staring me in the face. Every day there was a new situation where courage was required in order to be obedient to God. 

What does God say about courage, and how can we become more courageous Christians?

Joshua 1:9  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.......for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. 

Joshua was probably shaking in his boots. Moses was such a strong leader, and Joshua probably learned much of what he knew from Moses. But, Moses took a wrong turn, and although he served the Lord beautifully for many years, he did not get to lead Israel into the promise land. God chose young Joshua for the task. 

Joshua could have allowed fear to paralyze him and doubted his ability to forge forward for God and the Israelites, but he didn't. Joshua took courage and let God be his leader. We can do the same thing. 

When we know God is calling us to be honest, have integrity, work harder, help someone, or take a virtuous risk, that is when God is helping us grow as Christians, and gives us the opportunity to place more trust in Him. We must trust Him that he will take care of us and protect us. We may experience discomfort or pain, but God will protect our souls, and he does take care of His people. Nothing else matters more than trusting God enough to be obedient.

God already won the spiritual war. He's just waiting on us to have the courage to go fight in His battle today. Fight fear. Fight complacency. Fight doubt. Fight tolerance of sin. 

Maybe your battle today is being honest with someone. 

Maybe your battle today is physical pain. 

Maybe your battle today is self discipline to eat better or work out. 

Maybe your battle today is a battle with worry or anxiety. 

Maybe you battle with an unsure future. 

What if I told you that God holds your future, and that he knows what it holds? Well, he does. No one else knows you better than him, and no one else knows your future. Trust God today. Let him give you courage to fight. Pray for more courage. Pray for strength. God will be with you wherever you go. 

Joshua 1:9  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.......for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. 

In Him, 

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