Courage

Courage

Not too long ago I received a gift from a couple of my friends. It is a Willow Tree “Angel of Courage,” a simple six-inch statue of an angel with wire wings. Her fists are clenched and her arms are thrust high into the air. My first impression was of someone lifting her hands up to the sky in victory, as an Olympic gold medalist might do.  She seemed to be saying, “I am brave. I am invincible. I can do anything.”

After contemplating my little angel for awhile, though, I have a different image in my mind. I see a toddler first learning to walk.  She is reaching up and holding on to her father’s hands as she takes each faltering new step. That, I believe, is a better picture of courage, because courage is not the lack of fear; it’s stepping out in faith even though you’re shaking in your boots.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 

These are the words that the Lord spoke to Joshua before he led his people across the Jordan River to take possession of the Promised Land.  What was the basis of Joshua’s courage? After all, ten other spies saw giants in the Promised Land, so it wasn’t as if Joshua was going to be able to walk right in and tack up signs on the cities saying, “Under new ownership. Property of the Israelites.” But Joshua’s courage was to be based on the fact that God was with him, and that he was walking in obedience to the Lord.  

Joshua 1:7 says, “Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.”

David had his own giant to face. So what made this teenager think he could take on a nine-foot tall champion who was protected by incredibly heavy armor? In David’s words, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” I Samuel 17:37

David wasn’t trusting in his own strength or ability. He was trusting in the power of the almighty, living God.

“Fear not” must be one of God’s favorite expressions because He repeats it so many times in the Bible, maybe because He knows us so well and knows our tendency to tremble in the face of danger and uncertainty.

The definition of courage is “the ability to do something that frightens one.” Other definitions describe courage as:

 “the strength of mind to carry on in spite of danger.”

“the spirit or quality of mind that allows one to face danger, fear, or vicissitudes with self-possession, confidence, and resolution.”

So fear comes first, but we carry on, we don’t fall apart, we are resolved that we will not be defeated, and we have confidence that God’s grace is sufficient to see us through the trials. (II Corinthians 12:9)

My sister sent me a card that read, “When the going gets tough, the tough get waterproof mascara.” That card spoke to me as I am presently facing health challenges.  It reminded me that it’s OK to cry. I don’t need to pretend that I’m not struggling, but I still need to put on my mascara—my happy face---and go out and do the things I need to do.

“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair, persecuted, but not forsaken, struck down, but not destroyed.” II Corinthians 4:9

So many things cause us fear, and there are so many opportunities for courage.

We need courage to deal with the tragedies, traumas, and trials that sometimes unexpectedly assault us and shake the foundations of our faith.

We need courage to be obedient to God’s instructions, especially when it means stepping out of our comfort zones and embarking on new endeavors.

We need courage to trust God when changes come our way, when the road ahead is uncertain.

We need courage to persevere in the work that God has given us to do, even when we fear that we don’t have the strength or stamina to go on.

Sometimes we need courage to speak up when we don’t know how our words will be received. And sometimes we need courage to hold our tongues and refrain from making damaging remarks.

We need courage to live in a manner that is pleasing to God but is sometimes contrary to the culture in which we live. We need courage to resist the temptation to “fit in,” –courage to be different, to refuse to be conformed to the world, but rather transformed to the image of Christ.

When fear creeps in, we need to RALLY.

R-Remember-We need to remember God’s faithfulness to us in the past. David remembered that God had delivered him from the lion’s paw and the bear’s paw. I remember trials in times past when I cried every day and didn’t think I was going to survive.  But God brought me through those trials and restored happiness and joy in ways that I never would have imagined. If God did it before, He can do it again.

A-Appreciate - We need to cultivate an attitude of thanksgiving for the way that God continues to bless us in the midst of our struggles. I am thankful for air-conditioning and a comfortable bed, for the birds outside my window and the bunny that has taken up residence in my yard. I’m especially thankful for the phone calls, messages, and kind words, and helping hands that have come at just the right moment.

L-Look to God’s Promises—Joshua went forward in faith with his eyes on the Promised Land. God promises us that He will be with us. (Matthew 28:20) He promised He would supply all our needs. (Philippians 4:19) He’s given us a spirit of power and love and self-control. (II Timothy 1:7) Entire books have been written listing promise after promise.

L-Listen to God---Joshua’s promise came with the condition that he must be obedient to all that God commanded.  We need to be in tune with God so that we can hear His instructions and receive His guidance. That means taking time to read His Word and talk to Him in prayer, and then doing what He tells us to do.

Y-Yearn- If we’re going to be courageous, we can’t be passive or half-hearted. We have to yearn for His Presence, His power, His provision. It takes fervent prayer and effort.

“My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.” Isaiah 26:9

 “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.  You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 27:13

“Do not be slothful in zeal; be fervent in spirit; serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Romans 12:11-12

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

There is that picture again: God the Father is extending His right hand down to us, His little children, and we can hold on to it while we take those wobbly steps of faith. We can reach up and grab His hand while we walk into unfamiliar territory. We can hold on to that righteous right hand when we come up against the giants in our lives, knowing that He will never let us fall, He will never let us down, He will never leave us nor forsake us.

My Journey

(I wrote this in 2015; it tells the story of the beginning of my journey on a path to a deeper knowledge of GOD)

Getting to Know Him Better

Whatever you want, I surrender to You.

Whatever it takes, I am willing to do.

You know I am weak, so I’m leaning on You

To give me the power for yielding to You.

Whatever I’ve gained I now count it as loss.

I want to surrender whatever the cost.

Whatever I’ve cherished can never come close

To knowing you, Jesus, and loving You most.

These are the words I wrote in my journal during the Restore Retreat last October.  The retreat was a life-changing experience.  In the quiet setting of the retreat center, I was able to be still and really listen with my heart to the deep truths that God had for me. It had been a while since I had such meaningful instruction from the Word of God.  The lessons delved deep into the scriptures, shedding light on the cultural context of the passages and on the definitions of the words in the original Greek. The Passover meal that we shared also aroused my interest in the land and customs of Israel.   I hungered for more.

I expected that getting to know God would involve more intense Bible study and quiet time with Him.  Well, that was part of it, but God had a great adventure planned for me, a journey that we would walk together as He revealed Himself to me along the way.

A month after the retreat, when I “accidentally” stumbled on information about a tour to Israel, I casually mentioned it to my husband. Tim had frequently expressed a desire to go to the Holy Land, but, my response was usually, “Not me. It’s not on my list. It’s way too dangerous.” But Tim took that little bit of information about the tour and pursued it.  Then he announced that he was going---was I coming along? (I don’t think he would have actually left me behind, but sometimes I need a little extra push to make a decision.) We met with the tour leader and discussed the details of the trip. She related something that a Jewish man told her on her previous tour. He said, “No one just comes to Israel.  You are invited by God, and you decide to answer the invitation.”

It was as if Jesus was saying to me, “Do you want to know me better? Then come and see where I lived when I was on the earth. Come and visit my old neighborhood.”

The trip was flawless.  Not once did I feel fearful or even nervous, for I felt God’s hand of protection on our group the entire time.  What a thrill to set foot in the place where it all began….where God began His  relationship with man, where the patriarchs and prophets lived and preached and witnessed miracles in their midst. It was such a joy to travel along the rocky paths that Jesus, the rabbi, walked with His disciples, teaching them through parables and object lessons along the way. Seeing the city of Jerusalem and the surrounding landscape helped me to envision what it might have been like to watch Jesus pray in the Garden of Gethsemane and struggle down that road to the cross. Our Jewish guide helped us to understand eastern culture and thinking, giving new meaning to events in the Bible. I gained a deep appreciation of how God has dealt with the nation Israel over the centuries, and how even now prophecies are still being fulfilled, for He is still at work. The trip was an exhilarating “mountaintop” experience that gave me a greater reverence for the awesome God of Israel and for the Son who suffered and died for me.

But…God had much more to teach me about Himself. The second part of my education involved knowing Him through suffering.  In Philippians 3:10 we read that the apostle Paul prayed “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection (I like that…..knowing the resurrection power) and may share His sufferings”… (Ooh, I don’t like that so much---suffering.) Shortly after returning from the trip, God had some lessons to teach me through illness.

If the trip to Israel was a mountaintop experience, illness was certainly a dark valley.  I clung to God’s word with the belief that there is somehow a purpose in all of this. I wanted to draw closer to the Savior, to experience His presence, and to hear His voice.  But I really didn’t feel His presence.  Sometimes I wondered if I was just talking to an imaginary friend.  If He was speaking to me, I couldn’t hear Him because the pain was screaming so loudly and the enemy was constantly taunting me, saying, “God has abandoned you. He is finished with you. You are useless. Your life is over.”

Then one afternoon while in the waiting room at the clinic, I was reading Beth Moore’s Jesus the One and Only. In the book, Beth Moore encouraged the reader to try and picture what Jesus might have looked like.  The face that immediately came to mind was the face of the young technician who was in charge of calling patients and showing them into the doctor’s office. Ok, the young man has dark hair and a beard, and he does look a bit like he could be Jewish, but the feature that stood out was the kindness on his face.  I noticed how he smiled at the patients and asked them how they were feeling. He addressed them by name.  It’s how I imagined Jesus must have talked to the sick and the suffering.

Then I began to think of the various manifestations of God’s love for me during my illness:

I have seen Christ in the way my husband shows unconditional love for me even when I am unlovely. He has been a true servant, waiting on me and caring for me when I am too weak to care for myself. This is an example of God’s love. God loved us while we were yet sinners, when we had nothing to offer him in return.

When I cried, family members cried with me. It reminds me of the way Jesus was also “deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled” when he saw Mary weeping over her brother Lazarus, even though he knew the final outcome, even though he knew he would raise Lazarus from the dead.

I wish I could hear God’s voice with my own ears, but God has never spoken to me that way. He has spoken to me, though, through caring Christian friends who shared scriptures with me and encouraged me with God’s Word.

I haven’t seen visions of Jesus, but, come to think of it, I have seen Christ all around me.  I see him in the face of my pastor, who knows my name. In shepherding his flock, this pastor is imitating the Good Shepherd, who knows his sheep.

I see Christ’s example of a servant’s heart in my principal, who has taken my carpool duty for me and has taken care of my class when I had doctor’s appointments.

I have seen Jesus and experienced His presence because all of these people who have ministered to me are believers.  They have Christ’s Holy Spirit indwelling them. 

In First Fruit’s of Zion’s book Restoration: Returning the Torah of God to the Disciples of Jesus, there is an explanation of what happens when we accept Christ and become a new creation (II Corinthians 5:17):

“As believers, we are given a portion of God’s Holy Spirit to dwell within us.  We actually become temples of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit that dwells within us is the same Spirit that dwelled within and anointed Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus).  Therefore, we say it is the Spirit of Yeshua that dwells in within us. Indeed, ’Messiah in you (is) the hope of glory’ (Colossians 1:27)…….When we show the love of Yeshua to others, it is not our love we are manifesting, but the Master’s love made manifest through us. Because Messiah dwells within us, our acts of love are actually His acts of love.  We become, as it were, the hands and feet of Messiah.”

Through the body of Christ, I am getting to know a Savior who is kind and compassionate, who knows my name and feels my pain, whose love is unconditional and sacrificial.

Paul said in Philippians 3:8, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” In our journey here on earth, our goal is to get to know Him better.  Getting to know Him is more than just an academic endeavor.  Sometimes it involves those mountaintop experiences, where we get a taste of His awesome power.  Sometimes we get to know Him better through the fellowship of His sufferings. And though we aren’t able to see Him, hear His voice, or touch Him the way the disciples did, His Presence is made manifest to us through other believers, the body of Christ.

I don’t know why God has chosen to take me down these particular paths as He teaches me and guides me and as I develop my relationship with Him.  Some of the roads are not ones I would have chosen.  I do know that He loves me, and that no pain I experience will ever be wasted. I am trusting the words of I Peter 5:10: “After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”

The Weaver

My life is but a weaving

Between my Lord and me,

I cannot choose the colors

He worketh steadily.

Oftimes He weaveth sorrow,

And I in foolish pride

Forget He sees the upper,

And I the underside.