Sunday 15 October 2017

Courage

We can have confidence in the knowledge that God is always with us to speak to us, encourage and guide us and that we can have courage even if we are normally timid

Source: Etsy
I have been reminded of how, many years ago when I faced a very difficult situation that I had to go through, I prayed to God and asked Him to give me the courage I needed. His answer was that I was not to pray for courage, but to ask him for the strength and His help to go through it. Having courage is something that we ‘do’. We might be frightened, but we go ahead and do it anyway.  Soldiers facing battle must be very scared and anxious but they still go into battle and fight, even when everything in them must be screaming to run in the opposite direction. 

Often when we face something difficult God speaks to us beforehand and gives us everything we need, but that does not stop us having to go ahead and do it. I think of Moses who kept arguing with God when he was told to return to Egypt. God equipped him with what he needed - the staff to show miraculous signs and Aaron to speak on his behalf.  Another example found in the Bible is Gideon. When the angel of the Lord told Gideon to defeat the Midianites, He reassured him and even gave him two signs that he would be successful (Judges 6). In Matthew 14:27 when Jesus walked upon the water, the disciples were terrified when they saw Him, but Jesus immediately said to them, ‘Take courage!  It is I.  Don't be afraid’.  In 1 Corinthians 16:13 we are told, ‘Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be men of courage, be strong and in Hebrews 3:6; ‘Christ is faithful as a son over God's house, if we hold onto our courage and the hope of which we boast’. In Acts 27:22, when the ship the Apostle Paul was travelling on found itself in a violent storm and was about to be shipwrecked He said to the men on board to ‘keep up your courage’ and was able to tell them that their lives would be spared; ‘But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed’.

Source: PInterest
The phrase 'take courage' - can mean to ‘grasp’, or ‘to get hold of’.  All the phrases mentioned above are what we used to call 'doing' words when learning grammar.  We ‘grasp courage’, ‘hold onto our courage’ and endeavour to be ‘men or people of courage’. It is not just a stance or an attitude, it’s an action. We can have confidence in the knowledge that God is always with us to speak to us, encourage and guide us and that we can have courage even if we are normally timid; 1 John 4:4 ‘You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world’. I know that in my times of weakness and doubt that I can sometimes be a bit of a coward but I take comfort in the fact that I can have courage if I need it.  As I step out to do what needs to be done, He will give me everything I need to go through it; Philippians 4:19 ‘And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus’. What a blessing this is.

The song I have selected below; ‘Oceans, where feet may fail’, for me is prophetic. When I sing this song, I mean every word of it. Why not take a bit of quiet time to listen carefully to the words for yourself? 

Love in Christ and blessings.


Author: Muriel Allen

May God bless and enrich your life 


Please feel free to share this article and other articles on this site with friends, family and others 

4 comments:

  1. Thank you so much dear sister in Christ for blessing the body of Christ with your time to write this blog. ALL the Glory to God ALWAYS.

    “Not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed” Acts 27 v22

    “Let me walk upon waters, where ever you would call me” (from the song).

    God please Bless us with courage and strength to ALWAYS be an ambassador for your beloved son Jesus in EVERY situation we are in (with out exception) Amen

    God Bless

    ReplyDelete
  2. Praise God that He is with us at all times to give us strength when we need it in ALL situations. The part of the article that really drew my attention was; 'Often when we face something difficult God speaks to us beforehand and gives us everything we need, but that does not stop us having to go ahead and do it'. If we face challenging times in our lives, we will still need to go through them however, we are fully equipped to deal with them. Praise God. Thank you for this blessing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you for this encouraging article we need to be reminded to press in during the difficult times of our lives. Jesus told us in John 16:33 that we would have trouble in this world. But to take heart (be courageous) because He has overcome the world. Let's keep our eyes fixed on Him and go wherever He takes us knowing He will give us the strength and courage to make it through to the end. Thank you again for writing this blog.

    ReplyDelete
  4. thank you for this Article that will bless many , I was just thinking about the LION in the film (the wizard of oz) the lion so desperately wanted courage? eventually at the end of the film he was told that he did have courage? and all he needed to do was dig deep within himself to find it? , As Christians God will enable us to dig deep within ourselves to find that courage , the Scriptures in our blessed Bible are Gods letter to us , and the ones within your Article are an a good example of that . thank you for that lovely sung? you chose for your Artical ? the words that spoke and stood out for me in the song were
    ( And there I find you in the mystery , in Oceans deep
    my faith will Stand ) AMEN
    God bless you .

    ReplyDelete