COURAGE NO MATTER

Be strong and of a good courage,
fear not, nor be afraid of them: for
the Lord thy God, He it is that doth go
with thee; He will not fail thee, nor
forsake thee.
Deuteronomy 31:6

When I think of courage I tend to think of our military personnel, missionaries serving oversees, police and firemen, and all such persons. I looked up some definitions of of courage and was a little surprised that its definition extended beyond my expectations. Courage defined by scholars say that courage is strength in the face of pain, grief or hardship. A courageous person is also one who stands on principle despite opposition. As I see it, there is no limitations on race, sex, age, culture, etc. when it comes to showing courage.

Growing up in Sunday school, I learned of David and Daniel. David went up against a giant and Daniel spent the night, lion sitting in a den. I still don't think I've grasped the courage it took for both of those men, one perhaps just a kid, but both who stood up for right and for what they believed. It's hard for us to gauge courage even after an event, mostly because we didn't have to be involved.

Any of our military wars have had their share of military persons taken prisoner and tortured for important information. I remember during some of those earlier days reading about John & Betty Stamm, missionaries in China who were beheaded for their faith leaving their baby girl hidden under blankets for their nurse to find and protect.

I'm thinking of recent pictures we have seen of Christians in the middle east who face death with courage in standing for their faith. They attend church not knowing if it will be bombed with them in it. I remember young Christian men lined up on their knees about to be beheaded by Islamic terrorists because they wouldn't deny their faith in Jesus.

Courage isn't limited to overseas or even back into our history. We hear of courage on every side in our own country. In a recent school shooting, three male school personnel rushed into the fray and gave their lives to save students from being shot by a young maniac. At Columbine in Colorado, we saw young Christians admit to their faith and were killed. But courage doesn't always have to do with dying.

All of us know of folks who live courageously with horrible disease in their lives. Some of those folks require caregivers which also takes a great deal of courage. Some folks live in great pain most of their lives but never miss a church service...they just keep going, doing what is right to do.

Courage came to my mind close to home when I received a picture on face book of my granddaughter who lives in Florida. Even while in Texas before a family move, she was by all means a very advanced competitive swimmer for being in early elementary school.

A few months ago, she had an ankle injury which took her out of racing as she knew it in order to go through a therapy process. She doesn't have parents who insist she swim. They want her to swim for all the right reasons and enjoy it at the same time. Madelyn has recently returned to the pool as far as meets are concerned. It can be intimidating for a 9 year old to return to a place where she has felt physical pain, but has now returned to the water with coaches praise for her accomplishment.

I've seen courage in children who don't even know the meaning of the word and have seen it in older folks like a 99 year old Billy Graham who probably never considered himself as being courageous, but he certainly was. I've seen it in the eyes of a friend going through chemo and a neighbor man who cared for his wife the last few years and now is planning her funeral. I've heard pastor's preach the Word at the risk of their jobs before people who only wanted to be entertained. I've seen courage in a president of our country who is undergoing the persecution he and his family are enduring right now. Courage is all around us and we rarely recognize it.

The most courageous I can think of in these days is Jesus who came to earth, took on the form of a man. Although sinless, He came to earth to live and to die an impossibly cruel death that you and I might live. He gives us life right now as we live, but also provides eternal life for us. When we read of all He went through on the part of Roman soldiers, it's incredible He even looked human when they were finished. Scripture tells us He was hardly recognizable as a human being after all the abuse inflicted on Him.

  Then He had the cross to face. He did that for you and for me. He exemplified courage at it's greatest in the worst of circumstances. He could have called angels to His rescue, but chose to die in the face of circumstances you and I will never know. How can we ever dare disappoint or deny Him. In His strength and love, we find our own courage.

Dear Father, thank You for all You've done in my life. Help me to have courage to take whatever stands You call me to take. Thank You for being my Father and for all Your goodness in my life. In Jesus precious name....Amen