Many famous people in history have put their own spin on the word “Courage.”
The most quoted spin, in the USA at least, might be from Franklin D. Roosevelt who said,
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.”
Mark Twain said,
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear.”
Plato said,
“Courage is knowing what not to fear.”
Martin Luther King Jr. said,
“We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.”
Maya Angelou said, “Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.”
J.R.R. Tolkien said,
“It is not the strength of the body that counts, but the strength of the spirit.”
And last, but not least, John Wayne said,
“Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.”
In a world filled with this cancel-culture mentality, hate being spewed from social media posts like Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park, and the constant barrage of negativity and fear mongering stories put out by the thousands from the national news media, we have become a nation totally lacking in any moral fiber or courage.
If Plato is right, then we should know better.
If Martin Luther King Jr. is right, then why aren’t we building dikes to reach the sky to prevent the world’s influence on our minds, attitudes, and actions.
Where’s the courage?
Consider Tolkien’s quote. We are not just weak physically from bodies pumped full of over-processed fast food and who knows what pollutants on the produce we buy at the local supermarket. We are so weak spiritually in this county that I’m amazed we still exist as a nation.
Where is the true Christ-follower today with the courage to stand up and say, “This breaks God’s heart! This breaks my heart! It is time for change. It is time to NOT BE AFRAID anymore!”
You’d think I was making all this up. 50 years ago, I would never have thought the world as we know it today would exist. But it does. And somebody told us it would become this way, but we didn’t listen.
Maybe we should listen now.
Jesus told his closest followers about the days to come, and those days are here.
In Matthew 24:4-12 He said many people would come in His name and say they were the Messiah, the Savior, to deceive whomever they could. He said there would be wars and rumors of wars. He said nation would rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. He said there would be famines, earthquakes and more all over the world… but this was not the end, but only the beginning.
He said the world would hand over Christ-followers to be persecuted and killed. He said Christ-followers would be hated by all nations, and because of this there would be a great abandonment of people saying they no longer believe, and worse, they would hand over their friends and loved ones to be tortured and killed, because of hate.
He said that lawlessness would increase and multiply, and because of this people all over the planet would turn cold and loveless toward each other.
This is our reality today.
Matthew 24:15-31 is a starkly dramatic image of days to come in our world which are not here yet. And many, many people will not have the spiritual fortitude to endure these times. Read it for yourself and see what’s coming.
So, where’s the courage??
Head knowledge is one thing but knowing the Author of this information is a whole different thing. And here is what I mean.
The common message throughout the Word of God is simple: Do not fear!
This phrase is used 365 times in Scripture… do NOT be AFRAID!
But the command by itself is meaningless unless there is some good reason why we are not supposed to be afraid. Right? So what is it that allows Christ-followers to not be afraid?
Here it is. And if you don’t have this underlined in your Bible, and memorized in your brain, then do it now.
Deuteronomy 31:6 (CSB)
Be strong and courageous; don’t be terrified or afraid of them. For the LORD your God is the one who will go with you; he will not leave you or abandon you.
There is an clearly defined underlying doctrine of belief in Scripture that is required of every true Christ-follower for the empowering of this mighty promise.
God is in Control.
God’s Word is absolutely Authoritative for every believer.
God’s abiding Presence is constant regardless of our circumstances.
There must be more than a cursory acceptance of intellectual understanding that these three statements are true. They must actually rule over your every thought, attitude, and action. They should be the filter through which every choice you make is made. They MUST be so ingrained in your hearts and minds that no other construct of reality makes sense in the world today.
And when they do become all these things, then AND ONLY then, will you be able to be strong and courageous, instead of terrified and afraid of what comes next.
Pick a problem, any problem, happening today. Covid, Political upheaval in our nation’s capital, Israel on the brink of war. The World on the precipice of WW-3… none of these events takes God by surprise.
God is on the job. He is in control, speaking authoritatively through His written Word, and constantly abiding with and in those around the world who believe this is indeed true.
So … where’s the courage?
It’s time for some courage!
Let’s make it more personal…
Where’s your courage?
In the name of Jesus, what will you stand up for in courage, or stand against in courage, that would bring glory to God today?
As I was saying... 