Be Courageous

Scripture Text: Isaiah 41:10

Courage

Definitions

The mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.

Courage is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation.

One of my favorite definitions is from Martin H. Manser, Dictionary of Bible Themes, where he describes courage as,

“The quality of being able to act bravely under difficulties or in the face of opposition; being prepared to do dangerous or risky things in obedience to God, in the belief that he will strengthen, guard and protect his people.

The Concept of Courage in the Word of God

Biblically the concept of courage arises from the confidence that God is on our side.

The Nation of Israel Was Told to Be Courageous

In the OT, courage is shown principally in the leading of God’s people against their enemies. Courage was twofold. It was both the confidence and boldness to stand for God in the midst of an idolatrous world and to fight against the enemy nations who would assault them and try to take the land and blessings God had given them.

Judges 7:9–11 NKJV

It happened on the same night that the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand. But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant, and you shall hear what they say; and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.” Then he went down with Purah his servant to the outpost of the armed men who were in the camp.

2 Chronicles 20:15–17 NKJV

And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.”

The Leaders of Israel Were Commanded to Be Courageous

Joshua 1:6–9 NKJV

Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 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.”

Leaders Encouraged the People to Be Courageous

Because they were walking in His Promises

Deuteronomy 1:19–20 NKJV

“So we departed from Horeb, and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw on the way to the mountains of the Amorites, as the Lord our God had commanded us. Then we came to Kadesh Barnea. And I said to you, ‘You have come to the mountains of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us.

In the face of the leaders age or failing health

Deuteronomy 31:1–8 NKJV

Then Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. And he said to them: “I am one hundred and twenty years old today. I can no longer go out and come in. Also the Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not cross over this Jordan.’ The Lord your God Himself crosses over before you; He will destroy these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua himself crosses over before you, just as the Lord has said. And the Lord will do to them as He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites and their land, when He destroyed them. The Lord will give them over to you, that you may do to them according to every commandment which I have commanded you. Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”

The Prophets Were Told to Be Courageous

The prophets were told to be courageous because God would prove them to be His mouthpieces. Remember Jesus and later Stephen in his sermon in Acts said that Israel historically had a habit of rejecting and abusing the prophets. And yet God spoke these words to them.

Jeremiah 1:8 NKJV

Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.

Ezekiel 2:6 NKJV

“And you, son of man, do not be afraid of them nor be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with you and you dwell among scorpions; do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their looks, though they are a rebellious house.

We Can Be Courageous In Trouble and Under Pressure

Psalm 46:1–3 NKJV

God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah

We Should Be Courageous in the Course of Difficult Tasks

(David and Goliath)

1 Samuel 17:45–47 NKJV

Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”

1 Chronicles 22:11–13 NKJV

Now, my son, may the Lord be with you; and may you prosper, and build the house of the Lord your God, as He has said to you. Only may the Lord give you wisdom and understanding, and give you charge concerning Israel, that you may keep the law of the Lord your God. Then you will prosper, if you take care to fulfill the statutes and judgments with which the Lord charged Moses concerning Israel. Be strong and of good courage; do not fear nor be dismayed.

and

1 Chronicles 28:20 NKJV

And David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord.

The New Testament Concept of Courage is More Focused on the Empowerment of the Holy Spirit in our Lives

2 Timothy 2:3 NKJV

You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 10:19–26 NKJV

But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. “Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.

Our Faith is the Activator

Our faith and subsequent actions of boldness and courage activate the strength of the Lord in our life. As Paul spoke in 1Cor 16:13-14,

“13 Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. 14 Let all that you do be done with love.”

If you will make up your mind and take action to be faithful, God will send you strength to be faithful. If you make up your mind and take actions to overcome a habit, God will send you His enablement to overcome the habit.

Colossians 1:10–11 NKJV

that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;

Hebrews 3:6 NKJV

but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.

HE IS ON PATROL

A special letter written by an Oklahoma police officer helped to calm the fears of two sisters. The girls, aged 11 and 9, were so afraid of what might happen to them at night that they slept with a golf club and baseball bat nearby. Their mother believed that her daughters’ fears stemmed from the violence they saw on television. As a result, the two girls were afraid of everything and needed constant reassurance that every safety measure possible had been taken before they went to bed each night.

A police officer, Lieutenant Paul Barbour, heard about the girls concerns through his wife, who works with the girls’ mother. He decided that since he regularly patrolled the area anyway, he would help. On one of his patrols, he wrote a note to the girls, reassuring them that they were indeed very safe. Barbour taped a note to the family’s front door saying that he worked nights to keep people safe and help them rest in peace. He said that when he drove through their neighborhood everything looked good, and he wanted them to know. Barbour said, “It was nice to be able to write it down and tell somebody that I am out here watching and that we do care about you.”