christian courage
The meek can apply
You don’t need to wield a bloody sword, or crusade with an army across distant lands to demonstrate Christian courage. You can spread the word of God in your own neighborhood or use the Internet to share the Gospel throughout the world.
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 provides faithful encouragement. “Watch, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. May everything you do be done with love.”
Christian courage is not the absence of fear, nor the overt act of not being afraid, but the ability to do what is right and speak righteously, even when faced with the apathetic, the skeptical, or the unbelieving. God has called every Christian to be a witness of Jesus Christ and to share the Gospels. Not just some of us, but all of us. What percentage of Christians do you think do not do this with any consistency? Are you a witness? If he answered yes, what percentage of the time does he speak for the Lord? Rarely, sometimes, almost always?
Don’t you think that almost all of us, at one time or another, have been overcome by fear or hesitation? When the outcomes of situations are unknown, we often feel very worried or uneasy. Do you remember an experience like that in your past, or possibly in several very similar cases? Perhaps you find yourself meekly shy or worried when it comes to speaking up for Christ? Perhaps “worried” was not the best adjective to describe those feelings you were experiencing. Possibly extremely apprehensive, worried. Or even downright stressful, could you better describe how you felt under the pressure of duress? Yes, fear and anxiety can wash over you like a windswept electrical storm.
Today, let’s focus on the topic of “courage.” Not simply courage in a generic sense, as an admirable quality of character, or as moral virtues to be cultivated. But specifically, as a fundamental facet of the Christian faith. Consider what role the value of Christ plays in our daily lives. How can we increase our courage? How we can live courageously to spread the knowledge of the glory of God. Indeed, that is what our Lord, Jesus Christ, did. Are we not to emulate his teachings? Yes!
Christian courage, conviction, and love are crucial because they are the foundation for all other Christian virtues. Shouldn’t our Christian love and convictions act to strengthen our courage? Hebrews 10:38 (ERV) shows what God expects. “The person who is okay with me will live trusting me. But I will not be pleased with the one who turns back in fear.”
When we decide to build or strengthen our Christian courage, we must consider these important points. First, since we are not God, we cannot see into someone’s heart what message from us they might need. Softly spoken persuasions are often the best tactics for resulting in convincing messages from Christ. Can we honestly anticipate our own uneasiness when we are suddenly faced with an opportunity to share the Gospel? Why does that sometimes seem so scary?
Finally, do we often deceive ourselves and think, “I will never be afraid to speak for Christ. Will I never stumble? If so, turn to Peter and read, where he confidently declared to the Lord Jesus, “Though all be stumbled, I will not be.” Yes, at that time, even Peter failed. You know very well that what happened to Peter can happen to us, but a temporary failure is not the end of the world. It is?
Speaking for our Lord is a very serious matter. When Jesus directed us to “go and make disciples of all nations,” He expects us to do just that. When he is face-to-face with unbelieving neighbors, does your mind create stressful mental images of his speaking errors, or does total rejection of his message create even more anxiety that crushes his confidence? Perhaps he begins to wonder: how would their conversation be accepted, or how could it end? Do you fear that you might end up being so averse to negativity that it would take a miracle not to start a long-term flare-up between you and them?
Remember, the empowerment of Christian courage is a divine gift. With faith, you can receive the same special value that God gave to Ezekiel, saying to him: “Son of man, he receives in your heart all My words that I speak to you, and listen with your ears. And he sees, he comes to the captives, to the sons of your people, and speak to them and say, ‘Thus saith the Lord God,’ whether they listen or not. Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a great booming voice: “Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place!” I also heard the noise of the wings of the living beings touching each other, and the noise of the wheels next to them, and a great thundering noise. So the Spirit lifted me up and carried me away, and I went in bitterness, in the burning of my spirit; but the hand of the Lord was strong on me. Then I came to the captives at Tel Abib, who lived by the Chebar River; and I sat where they sat, and I was there wondering among them seven days. (Ezekiel 3:10-15).
What an extraordinary insight into an excellent example of God-given courage. However, displaying Christian courage is measured in proportion to your personal commitment, plus faith in Christ and in yourself. Another biblical example is found in Daniel, where the brave Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego more or less rebuked King Nebuchadnezzar. They said, “Our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the fiery furnace. He will deliver us from your hand, oh king. But if not, know, oh king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the image of gold that you have erected. Theirs were profound testimonies to the faith of the Old Testament. His sentiments are ones we would do well to reflect on today.
Where does that kind of faith and courage come from? He grew out of his certainty that God wields absolute power and would deliver them from evil or lead them to a much better place. Without fear, they felt that any way was fine. We have to feel the same way, right? No matter the situation, God is able to rescue us, and we hope and even hope that he will, but even if he doesn’t, it doesn’t matter.
Do you believe that? You better! Because not to do so is to doubt Him. Our faith should not rest or be based on what we think God is going to do, or what we want him to do, in this world. Our faith is based on who God is and what he has promised. And we serve a God who is infinitely more powerful than any king.
Certainly, the faith, commitment, and courage of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego reflected their love for God our Father. But it is also extremely clear that they had faith in what they were doing and that they were speaking the right thing.
If you have ever experienced fear, ever been afraid to stand up for your Christian values, you are not alone. Thousands of us, people just like you and me, have experienced hesitation, fear, and silence when opportunities to praise and glorify God and Jesus Christ present themselves. The Bible says, in several places, that God instructed his people to ‘not be afraid’. Because he said that? Because they were humans with the same emotions and concerns that we have. They were scared. But when God spoke, they took courage and continued forward.
Isaiah was instructed, “Fear not, for I am with you; Do not lose heart, because I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
To Abram, God said, in a vision, “Fear not, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”
And Joshua was told about Christian courage when God said, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and brave; do not fear, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Our Father God is not the only one telling us not to be afraid. In Luke 12:32, Jesus says, “Fear not, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” The International Standard Version relates Matthew 28:10 as, Then Jesus said to them: “Stop being afraid! Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”
Even angels pass similar messages. “And the angel of the Lord said to Elijah: “Go down with him; don’t be afraid of him.” So he got up and went down with him before the king.
Courage is a good character trait we’ve all heard of growing up. Bravery used to be the central trait of many TV shows and movies. Today, not so much. I saw courage in combat, where pilots braved massive amounts of bullets as we airlifted troops out of hot firefights. But maybe that’s easier than showing Christian courage. Could those Tinseltown heroes step forward at a parent-teacher conference and declare that most of today’s politically (in)correct issues fall under the domain of Lucifer rather than the teachings of Christ? Since our public schools and universities are guilty of a lack of emphasis on teaching moral values, of which courage is important, Christians must look to themselves, to their congregations, and to the Church, its leaders, to reinforce the courageous slander among our young people.
Have you ever spoken, in mixed company, against the secular specter of the theory of evolution that is taught as fact in our public schools? Why do teachers and administrators seem unfazed by recently revealed records reporting horrendous mistakes made by “scientific” evolution activists? They seem to bow to all the dictates of “modern science,” which, as we know, are non-evangelical truths. Incomprehensibly, they take all the antibiblical positions. His totally irrational and anti-Christian views on the biblical account of how the earth was created seem to be layered in concrete.
What is Christian courage? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines courage as the mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and resist danger, fear, or difficulty. To that I would add, Christian courage is a quality of convictions that enables Christian people to speak their minds, whether facing real or imagined fearful expectations. Being fearless does not mean being devoid of fear, but showing courage, even Christian courage, even though you may experience varying degrees of disturbing anxieties. Christian courage grows proportionally to your inspirations of hope, self-inspired or influenced by other more dedicated people.
The fact that Christian courage should be a part of our daily lives may sound strange because we often equate courage with outright heroism. You know, as soldiers risking their lives in war to save their comrades in arms, or as firefighters climbing ladders into burning buildings to save lives. Or do we think…