Excerpt from Breakthrough Courage: 9 Habits to Conquer Fear and Build a Brave Heart
The single-family house is a hallmark of American civilization. A house is an important structure to any family. It is meant to be “permanent”—to remain standing for the indefinite future. It provides shelter and comfort. We could drive through most any small town in America and see old houses built a hundred years ago that are still standing, still providing warmth and protection to families. We’ve all heard the phrase, “A man’s home is his castle,” and rightly so. In most cases it’s the most important and enduring material thing we own.
Liz and I raised our family in a house built in 1962. Structurally, it is strong. It has weathered blizzards, torrential downpours, and seventy-mile-per-hour winds. At seven thousand feet above sea level, our house has stood strong and steady through the extreme tests of Colorado weather.
Building a properly constructed house is no simple task. Ask any contractor. It takes architectural knowledge, careful planning, and solid materials.
Building a house of truth is similar: It takes copious research, a willingness to be challenged, and the humility to admit error. Building a house of truth is a mindset, a routine, and a habit that we must develop. One might say breakthrough courage is needed to do it.
The Book of Proverbs in the Old Testament, one of the oldest pieces of literature on truth, was written by Solomon, the son of King David. Considered by most scholars to be the wisest man in the world at the time, he wrote, “Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled” (Proverbs 24:3–4). Solomon is metaphorically comparing the construction of a house to a life of attaining truth for our lives.
Habit 7 involves building a house of truth in your life. To do this in a culture of unbelief, deception, and fake news is no easy task. Fear of facts inundates our mainstream media and political orthodoxy. To develop a habit of building truth into your life takes uncommon courage.
For some of you, this might even be the most frightening of all the habits. To be willing to challenge the American cultural orthodoxy of science, philosophy, politics, and religion induces fear. It takes fearful bravery to build this new habit.
Pastor Steve
