May 12, 2011 (re-posted, Blogger malfunction)
If I could chronicle the times in my life that I was courageous, what would I select? As a small child, I battled a life-threatening illness. I heard people say that I was brave, but I had no idea why they said so. Being oblivious to danger is not courage.
Later, when divorced from an unfaithful and alcoholic man, some might say that took courage. From my perspective, it was an escape. I was not strong enough to work through and overcome these problems. Running away is not courage either.
When I became a Christian, I enthusiastically shared my faith with everyone, whether they wanted to hear it or not. Most of my friends were not interested and most of them vanished. Action without discernment is not very courageous either.
Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:7–9)
The biblical definition of courage is more about obedience than bravado or lack of fear. In my flesh, I’m a big coward, but when the Spirit of God is in charge, something happens that is not fully explained in this text. Courage and obedience are close cousins.
For instance, obedience can happen with resignation and a sense of duty. This is not biblical obedience, nor is it courageous. God wants me to know His Word and eagerly do what it says from the heart.
Obedience, like false bravery, can also be blind to danger. When God asks me to do something, He may or may not let me see the pitfalls, but I do not obey blindly. I obey because I know and trust God. When He asks me to obey without revealing the outcome, I can do it because I know He is not going to harm me. This is getting closer to the biblical idea of courage.
I need it all the time. For one thing, I’m a results-oriented person. If I act and nothing comes of it, I want to throw in the towel. But courage is not like that. Courage means obeying God even if the results are not seen. It is based on believing He has reasons, not on what I can see.
Courage is often associated with an emotion, but in the Bible that emotion is different from the confidence/bravery association usually made. It is even different from the “I’m scared but I’ll do it anyway” attitude. For God’s people, He says no fright, no dismay and no self-confidence. I am to put my trust in Him and think about what His Word tells me to do. I must know without a doubt that He is with me, no matter how I feel.
This then is courage: wherever I go and whatever I do in response to the commands of God, no matter how difficult they are or how much opposition I face, Almighty God is walking beside me. I cannot see Him (I walk by faith, not by sight) but I know that presence. It changes things.
One incident comes to mind. A cursing man spoke vile things around children. The crowd was saying someone needed to do something. God said to me, “You do it.” With a calm sense of His presence that often accompanies obedience to Him, I got up and walked toward that man without any idea what I was going to say. I spoke. He was defensive, but he listened, and he shut up.
I still remember the feeling of it. It was not what I’d call brave, nor was I fearful. It was an overwhelming sense that God wanted me to do this and I must do it. My heart was as calm as if I were out picking flowers.
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Lord, You have given me several opportunities to experience this thing You call courage. It is not brash, nor rude. It is not ‘in your face’ toward others. It is like being in a bubble where You are the protective film keeping the outside from me and me from doing anything else but what You ask.
Forgive me, and all of Your people, for thinking that courage is something else, something we have to muster and grit our teeth over, or something that makes us self-confident. Help all of us remember that You are our confidence and when You ask us to do something that normally would make us run for cover, You are always with us and You will give us all we need to do it. Our courage is You.
Words of encouragement are wasted on the strong, courageous and successful people who are prosperous and without fear. If Joshua felt like that, the Lord would not have wasted these words on him.
Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 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 1:7–9)
God says things like this in the Bible because He knows His people. He knows that I often feel weak and fearful. I wonder if I am going to be successful in what I do for Him. I need words like this because my way often seems thwarted by adversity and difficulties that weigh me down and make me feel like quitting.
The New Testament has more verses that speak to the heavy-hearted and to those who struggle or are simply tired. This one comes after a passage about death and resurrection.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:58)
In context, perhaps the original readers were facing death. That was not unusual for many of the early Christians. God is telling them to persevere in their service to Him. Their reward may not come in this life, but it would come.
I need to hear that too. I did several things this week that were not my choice, but tasks that God put on my to-do list. A few of them brought grumbling until I remembered that these were for Jesus. Even so, I feel very tired and sometimes like I am spinning my wheels.
Another verse comes to mind. This one is for me today as well. In this passage, Paul is talking about the futility of living for my sinful nature. Instead, I need to live in the power of the Holy Spirit, and for good reason. He ends his exhortation to godliness and godly service with this:
And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. (Galatians 6:9)
If doing good was easy, God would not have put this verse in the Bible. Doing good can make eight hours of sleep seem like not enough. Being weary can make me wonder if what I do is worth it. But God says it is.
Jesus even said that anyone who is weary and heavy-laden can come to Him. He worded it like this:
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:28–30)
At first this seems to suggest that hard work and serving God are incompatible, that if my load is too heavy, I’m trying to carry it myself. While that can be true, I notice that He said “rest for your souls” not “rest for your tired bodies.” This word “souls” is about the animating force of life, not the external muscles that get weary from being animated! His burden may be light but carrying it can make a body tired.
Inside me is that satisfaction of knowing I’m doing what God wants me to do. Closer to the outside are some weary muscles, strained eyes, and an aching back. Jesus promises many things, all of them good, but I am still looking for that verse that promises a good back rub at the end of a busy day.
In my younger days, success seemed an important word, but I could find only one verse in the entire Bible that used it. This verse is in a section where God is challenging Joshua as he begins the task of leadership after the death of Moses.
Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 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 1:7–9)
Verse eight ends with “success” but now I know that is not the best translation. North American ambition reads in a contemporary spin and equates success with becoming rich and famous. In Hebrew, this word is actually the same word used in verse seven, there translated as “prosper.” My Hebrew dictionary says that it can also mean “act wisely.”
This tells me that success in the mind of God is not about making money or climbing the corporate ladder or being listed in “Who’s Who.” It is about following God with all my heart.
These verses also tell me how to do it. They say that I need to be strong and courageous, having the gumption to do what God says in a world that says the opposite. I need to pay attention to the will of God as expressed in His Word, reading and thinking about it continually. For that, I must turn off the television and abandon part of my library.
Also, they say that I need to be fearless and not confounded by the threats and confusion of life. I need to remember that God is with me, no matter where I go or what I am doing. Because He is with me, I can depend on Him to make available whatever I need. This is success.
This word obviously means much more to me than my early ambitions defined it. To make this practical, success is not getting angry when someone pushes or tries to provoke me. It is having a humble heart, knowing that I am needy and not at all embarrassed by that. It is joy in my heart during sunny and stormy days. It is responding to others with grace. It is being like Christ when everyone else is mocking Him or me. It is caring about the eternal well-being of everyone, even the people I don’t like very much.
Success is growing to Christian maturity and accepting whatever means God chooses to produce that growth. It is contentment and also zeal. It is purity and integrity. It all this and more, but certainly not about winning popularity contests, or having a great wardrobe, or a fancy place to live, or making the dean’s list, or anything I once thought was important.
For me, the key for this transformation of values is smack in the middle of that passage from Joshua where it says to let the Word of God be continually on my mind. Reading and studying Scripture exposes and cleanses sin, but also changes the way I think — and this is success.