Winston Churchill once said, “Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities… because it is the quality which guarantees all others.” It takes courage to lead; it takes courage to love; it takes courage to ask forgiveness; it takes courage to believe what you cannot see; it takes a tremendous amount of courage to be a Jesus disciple.
To be courageous is to be fully human. No one is more human than when he or she steps out in courage. The root word for courage is from the Latin, cor, which means heart. You can’t be wholehearted without courage.
All of us have been given a heart that longs to be courageous. Satan knew that in the garden and he knows that today. If he can do anything to us, he will “steal, kill, and destroy” our courage. He always attacks our heart and his main weapon is fear. Fear kills the heart. Fear undermines courage.
Courage requires a heart fully engaged for battle. Moses said to Israel, “Today, you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted.” (Deut. 20:3) He understood well that the condition of the heart would determine the outcome of the fight. Working with a shovel in one hand and a sword in the other, the nation of Israel rebuilt a fallen city. “We rebuilt the wall … for the people worked with all their heart.” (Nehemiah 4:6) When asked the fundamental requirement of all the Law, Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart …” (Matt. 22:37) Victory or defeat can be determined pretty much by the condition of our heart, which in turn, is the spark plug of courage.
Life is full of circumstances that test our courage. Martin Luther King said, “Courage is an inner resolution to go forward despite obstacles; Cowardice is submissive surrender to circumstances.” We all face potential road blocks along the way, but the road less traveled, the road to joy, faith, and peace is lined with wholehearted courage to stay the course.
On the road,
Steve
www.theroad.org
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Twitter: @pastorsteveholt
