It takes courage to live in the midst of our fears and accomplish the things God has purposed for us to do. It is in the midst of fear that we are called to take action. There are times we are gifted with supernatural courage. It is in these times that fear seems to vanish.
Fear is not always wrong. To back down and refuse to act because of fear is when it becomes wrong. Esther was stressed out when it seemed her people would be destroyed by the evil schemes of Haman. It took courage to call the people to a fast and to follow up with an unplanned entrance before the king. Jesus seemed stressed when sweat like drops of blood fell in Gethsemane. Courage and love caused Him to keep going forward with a resolute face to die for the salvation of humanity. There are times that fear will be in our heart but it cannot be allowed to control our future. It cannot define our boundaries.
There is such a long list of people in scripture that seemed to possess a courage that was beyond natural. I think of Caleb who took his mountain from the strongest of giants. I cannot forget David running towards Goliath. I can imagine the look in the eyes of Joshua as he boldly spoke of a present tense possibility of taking the promised land forty years before his nation took it. I remember how Nehemiah, with his laid back personality, just kept working on the walls of Jerusalem although the mail wasn’t good. I am encouraged by the apostles who would not back down from the threats. They rejoiced in being counted worthy to suffer persecution (see Acts 3, 5). These were men of courage. It was beyond normal.
Courage is more than an emotion or a feeling. It is a choice of faith and trust in God. Once these men of God said yes to what God was saying yes to, they were gifted with the courage to accomplish it. With their amen echoing the amen of God, they partnered with Him to do mighty things. Observing from a distance, one would think they were surrounded by an invisible shield of protection. An invisible aura seemed to hover over and around them. They were unstoppable. This is the kind of courage we need in these times.
There are so many ways to receive discouraging news in our times. The media is flooding us with bad reports. We are often tempted to imagine the worst and we can see ourselves in the middle of it. However, it is times like this that we are called to come higher. We are to catch the wind that causes us to go above the storms of fear. We cannot allow emotions to control our journey of faith and trust in our God. Succumbing to the emotions of fear and stress will rob us of life. He has called us to eternal life that already lives in us. No matter what our circumstances, we are called to life. One of my favorite scriptures is Isaiah 60:1,2 that encourages us to rise and shine. To arise, is to take action in the midst of the situation. To shine, is the result of courage taking its rightful place in our hearts.
Supernatural courage is adequately portrayed in the story of Jehu (see II Kings 9). Let’s gather gleanings from this great story. As the story begins Jehu is sitting with the captains of the army in Ramoth Gilead, one of the six refuge cities. There was safety and protection in the refuge cities. Jezebel is in Jezreel continuing her evil reign over the nation. Elisha is the prophet of God with a message for Jehu. Elisha sends his servant to Jehu with the message that he is to be the next king. The servant enters the refuge city and calls for Jehu. He takes him into an inner room and anoints him as the next king. Jehu comes out of the inner room with a new resolve – with a new anointing – with a new purpose. He rides furiously toward Jezreel to take over the kingdom and unseat the evil reign of Jezebel. And he does. He is the instrument in the hand of God to bring down the house of Ahab and Jezebel. He possessed supernatural courage.
In this story we see a guy holed up in a safe place. The church likes comfort. Even with injustice all around us we still like comfort, and most believers prefer not to make waves. Then a messenger comes and anoints us in the inner room. It is in the inner room that we often get the “thumbs up” from God and such clear direction challenges us to action. Jehu chooses to “ride furiously” towards that in which he was called to do. Will you ride furiously into what God has set before you? Jehu is the “Braveheart” of the Old Testament. His courage is a challenge to us to step into who God has anointed us to be – to destroy the work of the enemy in our spheres. After the inner room experience, a supernatural courage came upon Jehu, so that he had no fear. We need that inner room experience. We must step out beyond fear.
I have experienced times in which I have had to rise above my fears and choose to take action in the face of difficulty. I have also experienced times, when there seemed to be a presence around me that made me fearless. Years ago while undertaking a new project, I was met with strong opposition. I was blocked a couple of times on dead end roads and each time it required law enforcement to get me safely out. Our mailbox was beaten down and continual threats were made. There were a few times that I had to have a bodyguard to go with me to the bank and other public places. We were also escorted out of town to the home of a friend for several nights because of the threats. As I look back at those times I can almost see the shield of protection around my son and me. I felt such a strength. It was above the normal. I was never afraid. The Presence of God was so real that I can look back at those days and rate them as some of the best days of my life. I know what supernatural courage feels like. It is readily available from the hand of God for those who feel called towards difficult things. There stands a giant in every promised land. The gift of courage will take his head off.
Amen and Amen!
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