Courage!

“Cowardice asks the question: ‘Is it safe?’ Consensus asks the question: ‘Is it popular?’ 

Courage asks the question: ‘Is it right’?”  Rod Rogers

 

There’s a scene that takes place toward the very end of The Lord of the Rings trilogy at the end of The Return of the King. It’s during a great battle and during this great battle, there’s a very unlikely warrior, a girl named Eowyn, who sneaks onto the battlefield. As she is there, she finds her king, the King of Rohan. He’s wounded and dying on the battlefield. So she goes to him and stands over him to protect him. As she’s standing there, a dark, demonic enemy comes at her and says, “Get out of the way! Move aside!” 

  But Eowyn doesn’t move, instead, she draws her sword and says, “Do what you will, but be you living or dark undead, I will smite you if you touch my king! I’ll kill you if you touch him!” What amazing courage!

  Yet as Eowyn is standing there protecting her king, there’s another character that is more like most of us – Merry the Hobbit. In that battle, Merry sees that dark, demonic, gigantic enemy. He becomes sick and blind because of the terror that overwhelms him and Merry hides on the battlefield. But at one point he regains his sight and looks up. And guess what he sees? Eowyn is ready to die for her king. And J.R.R. Tolkien  then writes, that “great wonder filled his heart and suddenly the slow-kindled courage awoke and he clenched his fists and he battled as a warrior.”

  When was the last time that you saw courage? When was the last time you saw a Christian with courage? Do you struggle to be courageous? Courage is essential if you and I are going to stand for King Jesus!

  Courage, in the biblical sense, is not some personality trait. A soft-spoken, introverted, calm person can be courageous at a time when a driven, outspoken, brash person shrinks back. Courage is instead acting, by the power of the Spirit, on an urgent conviction in the face of some threat or opposition. Without sufficient courage, we don’t have enough fiber in our conviction to stand for Jesus or face opposition.

  No doubt you’ve heard of those individuals who can be sitting next to a complete stranger on an airplane and boldly share their faith. I’m not one of them. I struggle to be bold. I can feel the pit in my stomach as I share the gospel or make a stand for Christ.

  Many of us as Christians have a tendency to look at past leaders in the Church through rose-colored glasses. We are apt to place them on pedestals and forget that they too had feet of clay and knocking knees.

  It’s why the Apostle Paul so encourages me. Many passages in the New Testament suggest that Paul wasn’t a naturally bold person. For example, in 1 Corinthians 2:3, Paul admits that when he was with the church there, he was with them in “weakness and in fear and much trembling.” Then in  2 Corinthians 10:10, Paul acknowledges that his reputation among the churches was that his “letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.” There’s at least one record where Paul directly asks the church to pray for him that he “might “declare [the gospel] boldly.” (Ephesians 6:18-20). On another two occasions, the Lord encourages Paul not to be afraid in the midst of conflict and opposition. This all suggests that Paul may have been a naturally timid personality or at least was not as naturally bold as we tend to think he was.

  That’s just like God. Frequently, He takes those who lack natural gifts and empowers them or gives them the gifts they need to accomplish His will.

  We must pray for courage and pray for other Christians to have courage. There is great pressure today to conform or be silent. None of us want to be attacked, maligned, or caricatured. It’s why, like Paul, we must pray for courage and pray that our brothers and sisters have courage, too. Evidencing courage is usually personal. It’s not primarily manifested with a keyboard as in social media but in personal contact and relationships.

  We must be courageous about that which has true significance. In recent years, Christians have become very outspoken about political positions, yet I can’t personally think of one of those positions that will make an eternal difference. Instead, they’re frequently distractions from the mission Jesus gave us.

  The Bible teaches that there are only two eternal destinations. Jesus commissioned us to share the gospel so that we can bring as many to heaven with us as possible. Most of the other “stuff” is a bit like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

  As we are courageous, it influences others. Like Merry, watching the courage of Eowyn, as others see us acting in courage, it encourages them to act with courage. It’s why it’s vital for us to share what God is doing in our lives, how He is working, and how He is using us.

  Godly courage means being willing to pay the price for what is right. There is great pressure today in the workplace and the classroom to be shamed into silence. Please understand. God didn’t call us to be obnoxious. Some Christians believe that they’re being persecuted because of their biblical positions when they’re really being persecuted because they’re acting like a jerk.

  As much as possible, Christians must have irreproachable behavior. We must be a bit Teflon so accusations can’t stick. The fruit of the Spirit should be so much a part of our life that like Daniel of old (Daniel 6), the only thing that can be found to criticize is that we love Jesus too much. We must consistently act with Christlikeness but must not give our approval to sinful behavior. Sometimes taking a stand for Christ is going to cost us.

  Godly courage means standing for what is right in your home. Every parent feels the pressure to cave to “everybody else is doing it.” It’s why we need a local church family. Our children need to see in our church family that the values in our home are the same as those of other believers in our church. It will help embolden them to have the courage they will need as adults in our darkening world to stand alone for the Savior.

  The same Holy Spirit who emboldened those early believers to stand courageously for Christ, even sometimes at the cost of their lives, has taken up residence within us and gives us courage, too. Courage isn’t the absence of fear. It’s living by faith in the midst of fear, trusting that the Spirit will give us what we need at the right moment to live boldly for King Jesus!

Can we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.