COURAGE

“Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow.”

Mary Anne Radmacher

Courage is not just a good idea. It is not the action that is honored in the form of medals, tickertape parades, monuments, or plaques. It has been defined not as the absence of fear but as the clarity of mind and commitment to action in spite of that fear. Probably, for the sake of this brief writing, courage could best be defined as perseverance, possibly even faith.

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of thins not seen. (Hebrews 11:1). Faith involves courage. It is the step forward into the future, not because we know the future, but because we know the one who holds the future in His hands. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. I do not know what will happen next week. I know what is on my schedule, but I have no assurance the things I have written on my calendar will actually come to pass.

James 4:14 says, You do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little awhile and then vanishes away. We do not know how much time we get on this earth. Though our Creator loves us, we have no guarantee that our plans will succeed. Christian marriages sometimes end in divorce. Christian parents don’t always have kind, gracious, obedient, respectful, loving children. Some Christians are homeless. Other Christians are in prison. Still others do not recover from their illness in spite of all the prayers that are sent to heaven on their behalf. Just why are we Christians, then? What prompts us to faith, perseverance, and courage? I certainly hope it is something more than the fear of a negative afterlife.

Yet, as Christians, we do not hold back. We do not adopt a defeatist attitude. We are not without hope. For every time we fail we recognize Christ’s forgiveness and start fresh. We move forward with a confidence not based in our own abilities, but in the one who forgives us for our mistakes and rebelliousness. Though the day be dark, the one who created the day gives us a completely new one with each sunrise and encourages us to try again.

Pastor Craig