Courageous

Courageous 

Rachel S.

“Remember that I commanded you to be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid, because the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

                                                ~Joshua 1:9
I have loved this verse for a very long time. It’s a command from God to Joshua to stand strong even when the world might be crazy.
 
Really, how cool is that?

You see, I’ve been thinking about this lately.  I’m not the strongest person on the earth. In fact, I’m pretty sure that God gave me two very strong brothers for the reason that they can lift all the heavy stuff that I can’t seem to manage to drag along the floor.

Also, I’m not very brave.

(True story: one time there was a spider in my sheets and I slept on the couch. I’m not even kidding.)

I can be brave, (like one time I ate sushi…That was fun…) but just me being naturally like, “Hm, let me go do something crazy and brave!” That just doesn’t happen.  (I’ll hide behind a laptop and blog about how I wish I was brave instead.)

“Don’t be afraid.” Quite honestly, I do a lot of fearing. I fear spiders, falling, spiders, change, spiders, snakes, spiders, and… well… just a lot of things. (If you happen to be small, hairy and have eight legs, I am probably afraid of you. Just saying.)

So when I read this and I see God commanding his people to be, strong, brave and not to be afraid… I kind of just curl up in a ball and die.

But I wonder if it’s more than just being physically strong, brave and not afraid.

Like what if it’s being strong in the faith? What if it’s being brave enough to walk across the room and pray with a hurting soul? What if it’s not being afraid of what people think of you?

Because while there is something to being physically strong, brave and courageous (Like, it’s cool to go mountain climbing and parachuting.) I wonder if God perhaps wanted us to do more than just be able to lift a cow.

What about being strong in the faith? Could it be that maybe he wanted us to be strong enough to press on in the race that he has set before us?

And what about if being brave is more than just physically… lifting a cow. (For example. It works, so I’m just gonna run with it.) What if it’s also being brave enough to walk across a room to talk to someone that he wants us to shine into?

Lastly, what if being courageous is more than killing a bear (What is up with me and barnyard references today?)  And is having the guts to stand up for what is noble and pure—even if we don’t want to or it’s not the easiest thing to do.

Because although there is nothing wrong with being physically strong (most of my family is.)

But I think there is more to it than just that…

Is there something to being strong and courageous because we know the sovereignty of God??
Just a Thought...

A Promise From God

A Promise From God  

            Just this morning we saw that my little bunny Cinnamon died. We are very sad. But this reminds me of a subject most people don’t like to talk about. Death.

           

People don’t like to talk about this, but we have to face facts. We are all going to die, whether we like it or not. That is why we have to be ready to meet our maker. Death is part of the curse. When Adam and Eve left the garden, death entered the world.

“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature is able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39 KJV) This wonderful verse tells us that if we are truly Christians, and love God with all our hearts, we don’t have to be afraid to die, or be separated from our loved ones. Because nothing, yes I said nothing, will ever separate us from the love of God. We don’t have to be afraid to die, because, unlike the non-Christians, we know that we will live in eternity with Jesus in heaven after we die. If we are deep under the ocean, God is with us. If we are on the highest mountain, God is with us. We don’t have anything to be afraid of! Isn’t that wonderful?

“Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” (James 1:15 KJV) You see, when you sin, you are going to go into eternal death. Hell. But you have hope! If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you shall be saved, from death in hell! So I ask you today. Do you believe on Jesus, the Lord of Lords, and God of Gods? If you don’t, I beg you, come to Jesus! He can save you from eternal condemnation! Just put your trust on him! He died so all of his chosen would be with him in Heaven.

For those who are Christians, you don’t need to be afraid to die. God will always be with you through thick and thin. In Joshua 1:9 it says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.” Isn’t that a wonderful promise? God will always be with you.

Be Courageous

Be Courageous

By Sarah P.

“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, NKJV

Courage is not a word you hear a lot nowadays. Maybe you’ve heard your history teacher say that George Washington was “courageous” or you’ve read Joshua 1:9 before when you were nervous. But, to be honest, we just don’t apply courage to our daily lives.

 

Dictionary.com defines courage as, “the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.” John Piper defines courage as, “…the willingness to say and do the right thing regardless of the earthly cost.” The two definitions are very different, if you think about them; one is saying that courage is action with an absence of fear and that it comes from your own mind or spirit, and the other is saying that courage is willingness to follow God’s leading, even in the presence of fear. We’ll call the first definition “the world’s courage” and the second “God’s courage.”

Let’s examine the world’s courage. The world tells us that courage comes from the power within our own minds. Following this line of thinking, we should be able to somehow empower ourselves to having courage. Yet, when I’m afraid, I don’t find a power within myself that will make me courageous—or banish my fears. Instead, I often find my own depravity and powerlessness staring back at me and wish I was someone else.

When God told Joshua, “be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed,” He knew that Joshua was scared. This was when Joshua was beginning to assume leadership responsibilities after Moses had died. Joshua was realizing that he was responsible for leading thousands of people, and that probably made him really nervous. Therefore, I don’t think God meant, “stop being nervous and defeat fear by using the power within you.”  Instead, He goes on to tell Joshua a reason not to be afraid: “the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” He’s saying, “You do not need to be afraid because I am with you always.”

Courage is not a self-motivated lack of fear. It is a God-motivated willingness to do the right thing despite fear. The only way to defeat fear is to have courage and faith in God and act anyway.

So, despite what the dictionary may tell you, courage is not an absence of fear. Maybe, if we understood that, we would act a little more courageous. We would stand up to temptation from our friends and our own hearts. We would be the voice for God at our schools and workplaces. We would stand up for others, and we wouldn’t let the fear of what others think stop us. And that’s all because courage does not require us to be naturally fearless or be born with special qualities; it only requires us to be willing to follow God, no matter the cost.

Will you be courageous? Will you take a stand? Will you put your faith in God and follow Him, no matter the cost?

God Bless,

Sarah