Courage: the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.
“I have told you these things so that you can have peace in me. In this world you will have troubles. But be brave! I have defeated the world!” John 16:33 ERV
'It’s too hard, God….'
'How am I going to do this, God? This is impossible!'
'What do I do now? There’s no way out of this now…..It’s hopeless….'
Trapped. Doomed. Game over. Something happens, then just as you are about to get up and regain your stand, you get knocked down again and kicked in the teeth. Life is throwing all the punches, and there’s no letting up. You can’t imagine it getting any worse, and then it does. What else could possibly go wrong? And how on earth is it going to get better?
What’s your natural reaction when something bad happens? What do you do to cope? What is your method for working it out and finding a way to recover? How do you ultimately move on?
I can recall from an early age, being encouraged to do my best no matter what life throws my way. As a Pastor’s daughter, I grew up watching my parents both set this example of joy in all you do, helping whenever you can, being kind and loving at all times. We had friends become like family to us as we settled into a new church home wherever my Dad was called to serve. They always made it look so easy, so effortless. As I got older, into my college years and beyond, I had some beautifully honest and transparent conversations with them learning about how much of a challenge much of it was for them. Learning about the struggles they had in ministry, the challenges my Dad had with his leadership position at any given moment, and how it required something of him that I am certain he would have preferred to not have to deal with at all.
I can remember a time in our years at a church in southern California, I think I was maybe 10 years old, when Dad got emotional in one of his Sunday morning sermons. It was the first time I had seen my Dad having a breaking point, and it happened in the middle of a sermon. The Holy Spirit moved in Him at that moment for a purpose well beyond what I am sure my Dad realized. Even at that young age, I can recall the feeling in the sanctuary as he pounded the podium in sync with his words, the emotion of it. I can’t remember what he said exactly, but I remember it was a cry out to God for direction. Everyone sensed it, you could just feel it. At that moment, I was immediately concerned about my Dad, but at the same time it left an impression upon my heart. My Dad did not avoid it, gloss over it, push it away, or in any way attempt to dismiss what God was speaking into him for that message that day. He chose to courageously share His heart for the movement of God in all of us at that moment. And I saw in my Dad for the first time in my life how deeply He loves the Lord and loves being His. I have watched with great love and admiration as my Dad has given his entire life to the ministry of the gospel of Christ. He has been a tireless and unwavering example to me of living a life in Christ without apology. He has shown me how to stand firm in my faith and in my life. Because of His influence, I have chosen at some of the worst moments in my life to deal with it, learn from it, recover from it, and move forward knowing the best is yet to come. I consider my Dad to be my hero, absolutely, but not because I think he is perfect. I consider him to be my hero because I have seen in him that even at my weakest, even when I am not at my best, even when the sky seems to be falling, I have reason to keep moving forward. I will not give up, there is always a reason to press on.
I am thankful I have an earthly father who has exampled to me love and kindness, courage and determination, and that he pointed me to a relationship with my heavenly Father. This influence is what steers me to have hope at all times, no matter what life throws my way. There are a lot of people in this world who have no hope. That’s why our Father God allows us to keep on living on this earth. We have work to do, everybody! We have a lot of love and kindness to share with a lot of people who are in such dark circumstances. He wants that for me and for you, for every single person on this earth. We need to take courage, find hope, be brave in this terrible world and be an example for Christ.
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