Here is a very good piece of advice for God’s people:
“Love the LORD, all you his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride. Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD!” Psalm 3:23-24 ESV
We are told to love the Lord, be faithful to Him, take courage because of Him and wait for Him. The reason for doing so is because He preserves us. This can be a hard fact to accept when we feel that we are loosing the battles all around us and our hearts are growing faint. Nevertheless, it is a fact, and we must take courage therefore. We must make it our prayer that God would help us see how He is preserving us even in the midst of our trouble and that He would increase our love for Him and our faith in Him as is proper for the one who is preserved by the Lord.
May we take courage in knowing that God preserves us always for His glory and our good!
A while back I read a book that talked about how courageous it was to strive to write the story of your life, to take risks and do something that stretches you and makes your life a story worth telling. I have had people in my life chastise me for not being proactive enough at taking my life into my hands, stepping out, making decisions, taking risks. Almost all the leadership books I have read talk about how great leaders take bold risks and risk being wrong but never wait or stay inactive. The former state is seen as a state of courage while the later is seen as a state of fear and cowardice.
Could they all be wrong? Could it be that the really courageous person is the one who stops trying to write the story of his life and starts letting God write the story of his life by turning his entire life over to God in prayer, by abiding in Christ? I think the answer is yes. In fact, while some would see such a course as passive, weak, and potentially a cop-out I believe that it is in fact a different form of the most courageous activity any person can engage in.
It is my conviction that it is the way God wants me to live my life and the thought is staggering.
This thought was sparked by Paul Miller’s book “A Praying Life”
I think it is easy to get discouraged. I think being discouraged is related to being dismayed and even frightened. But, I know that being frightened or dismayed because of the events happening around us, the difficulties we face and the enemies that we encounter is sinful. I know it is sinful, because God commands us to not be frightened or dismayed (okay, he commanded the Israelites – Joshua 1:9), but I think the command applies to all believers.
The natural question is, ‘why is being frightened a sin?’ After all, it seems to be a natural response to certain circumstances. In fact, we often tell our children, it is okay to be afraid even when there is no rational reason for being so. We seem to want them to understand that they shouldn’t feel bad about being afraid and mom and dad aren’t mad because they are afraid. After all, we understand their fear. And yet it is a sin. We are commanded to not be afraid.
We are commanded to not be dismayed. It is a sin to think that all is lost and there is no hope, and yet sometimes we cannot see hope to save our lives. How can God command such a mindset that we would not feel hopeless in the face of our enemies or terrible life circumstances?
Ah, the answer is in the text. God says, “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 1:9 ESV
In my last post I spoke about changing my focus. Here is the reason why I can, with confidence change my focus. Here is the reason why you can stop being discouraged, fearful and hopeless…”the Lord your God is with you wherever you go”.
Some important points to consider. 1. It is the Lord…the sovereign creator of the universe that is with you. 2. He is YOUR God and by extension you are his child with the promise of his eternal mercy and care. 3. Regardless of where you go, Child of God, your Father, who loves you eternally and perfectly, is always with you.
So, it is not a matter of psyching yourself out so that you are not afraid when all rational thought tells you that you should be. Rather, it is a matter of changing the premises of the arguments you use to establish your emotions. When you say, My enemies are in pursuit of me to kill me, My God, who is greater than my enemies and who loves me eternally and perfectly, is with me, you conclude, I do not need to fear my enemies. There is no rational reason to do so.
So, in order to change my focus I most be convinced of the truth that the Lord my God is with me. You see, changing my focus just may be the same as the command to not be afraid and not be dismayed. I must focus on the truth of God’s presence in my life so that the sin of discouragement can be overcome by the virtue of faith.
May we truly be transformed by the renewing of our mind so that we can be strong and courageous!
