Being Courageous (Updated 1/13/20)

Being Courageous

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Tonight’s message is going further into our message from the other morning on practical faith, and the faith it takes to live in God’s purposes for our lives, and I am taking this from the same example given in Joshua’s life when he was preparing to enter into the Promised Land, or in our case, the promises of God.

Possessing courage entails several qualities that enable us to face difficulty, danger, disappointment, despair, death, and whatever other dreadful “D” life throws at us.

Courage is when we decide to put our faith in action. Therefore, to have courage is to act in accordance with our beliefs. If we say we believe in something we should be able to stand for that belief no matter what.

Courage, therefore, is something we need to face the future, especially a future that is so uncertain as what we are facing today with the Coronavirus pandemic, racial violence, and economic devastation.

We need courage so that we’re not paralyzed by fear or anxiety. We need courage so we don’t compromise our convictions due to these difficult circumstances.

The Apostle Paul said that God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7).

Further, courage isn’t about being a super hero, but rather it’s about having the courage to face life’s everyday challenges. It’s the choices we make. It’s choosing between what is right over what is convenient, or choosing our convictions over comfort.

In short it takes courage to be a Christian. It takes courage obey God and enter into the fullness of our inheritance as children of God.

It was such an act of courage and belief that saw the Apostle Peter boldly standing in defense of the faith after healing the crippled man before the gate called Beautiful.

Now, remember this is the same Peter who ran away from these Jewish authorities when Jesus was arrested, and the same Peter who denied even knowing Jesus for fear of his life. But now he is standing up for Jesus before these very same men.

Unfortunately, many of us don’t believe we can be courageous like Peter, or those men and women of faith we read about in the Bible or in biographies of the church during those times of reformation and revival.

Many of us see ourselves like Joshua and the way he felt when he was about to lead the people from out of the wilderness and into God’s Promise Land.

You see, several times the Lord had to say to Joshua, “Be strong and courageous.”

It would seem that the Lord was seeing a fear within Joshua.

The Lord said, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9 NKJV)

Joshua probably felt weak and incapable of this task. I mean who wouldn’t following such a strong leader like Moses, and yet, not even Moses could lead them into the Promised Land, therefore, who did Joshua think he was to accomplish what Moses failed at.

But God encouraged him, which means God gave Joshua courage so that he could fulfill his purpose and calling?

There’s a lot to be learned from Joshua’s life and the conversation God had with him that speaks to this topic of what courage should look like.

One of the more popular definitions of courage is that courage isn’t the absence of fear; rather it is moving forward in spite of our fear.

This reminds me of a story of two young boys who visited a dentist. The first boy said, “Doc, will you pull a tooth right now? Don’t need no gas or Novocain, just yank it out.”

The Dentist said, “Sure, now that’s what I call being a brave and courageous lad. Now, which tooth do you want pulled?”

The boy then turned to his friend and said, “Come on Jimmy, show the Doc your tooth.”

I really like what Martin Luther King Jr. said about courage. “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

So, let’s take a look at these qualities of courage from Joshua’s life in chapter one

1. Be Faithful

Joshua was a faithful servant

“After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant.” (Joshua 1:1 NKJV)

Joshua realized long before this that God had called him to be Moses’ assistant. That was it, and Joshua was okay with that. Joshua was faithful to what God called him to be.