Be Strong and Courageous-Part 2

The call to be strong and courageous is a challenging one. Sometimes we just don’t feel like it. We feel weak, tired and scared. It’s so much easier to sit on our backsides than it is to get up and go to war. And what’s the use anyway, our reasoning tells us, it’ll make no difference to our situation; there’s no way we can win. Sometimes, though, reasoning is just a big, fat liar and we need to listen to the call of Faith.

The battles going on in our minds at moments like that are sometimes even fiercer than the one we can choose to face and fight. Taking the first step is always the hardest part. But doing something is better than doing nothing. If you know you have to do something that’s hard but choose to be overcome by fear and do nothing, you’ll find yourself stuck in the same place for a very long time, wondering why you aren’t moving forward in your life or circumstances. We can’t sit around moaning about the hole we’re in; we have to start the long, climb out, with God as our strength and courage.

The thing we have to keep reminding ourselves, myself included, when faced with any difficult situation is that complaining in our La-Z-Boys isn’t going to help make the situation get any better; it won’t get any better. In fact, it’ll only make it worse. It’ll be swept into a corner, growing steadily and waiting to suddenly pounce. We have to get up and do something. Actions speak louder than words; we can’t complain about something we’re not bothering to even fix.

 I know that, at times, we just don’t have the strength to fight; we don’t have the strength to face things. We are tired, and afraid of what might happen if we decide to take a stand. But we can’t let that stop us. Why? Because the God I serve is bigger than anything we’ll ever go through. When we try to rely on our own strength, we’ll hit a big pothole. When we hand over our situation and anxieties to the Lord, He promises to lighten our load. It may not happen immediately, however. We still have a battle to fight. The battle may be long and terrible, but it’ll be better than having done nothing. Because from those battles we fight, we gain experience and the knowledge that in the end God gives victory to those who earnestly follow Him. He will be with us, and will never ever leave us. He has a bigger plan in mind. So be strong and courageous.