Day 16 – It has been said that courage is the ability to do what needs to be done even though it frightens us. I agree with that. Some people seem to be under the impression that courage is the absence of fear, but they are definitely mistaken. We are acting courageously when we do what needs to be done, regardless of how much it scares us.
Everyone wants to be brave. No one wants to be referred to as a coward. All of our movies and stories reflect the fact that we adore courage in our society, and we abhor cowardice.
In the Bible, David killed Goliath, even though he was frightened of the huge giant. With only a sling and a rock he slayed the monster of a man, and then cut his head off with his own sword. What an example of courage! What a brave act!
“But what does courage have to do with spirituality?” you may ask. Well, sometimes it takes a lot of courage to step out in faith. Very often, we are scared to trust God, and so we worry, when it would be best if we just had the courage and faith to stand strong, and allow God to do things in His own way and in His own time.
That is what David did when he feared Goliath. He prayed for his God to help him to slay the big, bad giant. Because of that trust he was able to do what others said was impossible. He killed the big, bad giant with prayer, courage, faith, a sling and a sword.
Sometimes we need courage to stand up to bullies who would otherwise ruin our day, or perhaps ruin our lives. Bullies are like that; they are cowardly and weak, but they hide it by picking on others who they see as weaker than themselves. We need to be courageous and stand up to them, so they will learn we are not to be bullied and beat down. We need to stand our ground.
Meditation for today: I need to do what needs to be done, even though I am afraid to do it.
Prayer for today: God, help me to be courageous today.
Steve Holder 