Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love.. (1 Cor 16:13-14 , NLT)
The third of our five simple rules to a victorious Christian life is “Be Courageous”. It is a fitting progression from the first two – “Be Watchful” and “Stand Firm in the Faith”. To do either of these first two things successfully, we have to be courageous.
RULE #3: BE COURAGEOUS
There are very few certainties in life, just a handful of things we can really be sure of. For the most part therefore you will need to make constant recourse to courage in other to successfully navigate your way through life.
There are very few certainties in life, just a handful of things we can really be sure of. For the most part therefore you will need to make constant recourse to courage in other to successfully navigate your way through life.
Courage is defined in the Webster’s Dictionary as “the quality of mind which enables people to encounter danger and difficulties with firmness or without fear”. It involves acting with resolve and boldness.
Fear, especially fear of failure, has always been the most significant barrier to success in any endeavour. There is no shortage of the challenge to courage in the scriptures. But it is worth pointing out that the presence of courage does not imply the absence of fear.
“If we’re growing", said John Maxwell, "we’re always going to be out of our comfort zone”. This means that the fear factor will always present. However, the thing that sets the courageous person apart from the rest is the fact that he or she does not allow fear to influence or dictate the step he or she is going to take next. Indeed, someone (I’m not sure who) has described courage as “being one step ahead of fear”.
The believer has not received the spirit of fear or a cowardly spirit, as we discover from 2 Timothy 2:7 . On the contrary, what we have received is the spirit that emboldens or gives courage. We find then that this call to live a courageous life is not an impossible challenge: God has given Christian the capacity and grace to fully satisfy this third rule of a victorious Christian life: “Be Courageous”!
By the effectual working of the same grace that enables us to approach the Father boldly (Heb 4:16 ), we can face up to our fears, resist them, gain mastery over them and grow in confidence to live faithful moral and spiritual lives. We have need of courage to resist our adversary the devil, to overcome his trials and temptations, to keep our ground, boldly defend truth and contend earnestly for the faith.
It’s in the nature of God’s call upon us as His workmanship, His ambassadors and His vessels that we develop a different attitude, one that expects the demonstration of the spirit and the victorious power of God in every opposition, and not one that is harassed into capitulation by the storms of life and by Satan and his host of wicked spirits.
Christian courage flows from a sense of devotion (1 Chronicles 28:2) and of duty (Joshua 1:9) to God. It is a life of faith established on the promise of God’s abiding presence (Hebrews 13:5-6) . The promise of God’s presence belongs to all believers. It is an assurance given by God to neutralize fear and provoke courage in the heart of His people! "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world" (1John 4:4)
Your courage will grow as you learn to take God at His word! (1 Samuel 30:6, KJV). Look to Him as the ever-present helper who is always there with you as you navigate life’s challenges and walk the path that your obedience to His word has led you to tread.
May the Lord fill you with grace to run with courage the race that is set before you!
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