“Haven’t I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9, WEBBE
When I was young I thought I had much courage. Later however, I found out that was not true. I was not really courageous. It was either I was just strong, or that I was totally ignorant of the risks I was taking.
Having courage takes a lot more than strength. It takes a lot more than being unaware of the dangers around you.
They are not brave who are quite capable of defeating their foes. They are not brave who foolishly enter into battles they know nothing about.
They are courageous who are well aware of the suffering they would go through, but who would face it anyway in order to fulfill a higher call. They are courageous who are in their worst day, fallen and aching, yet willing to rise again and again after each fall. They are courageous who are weak in the bed of sickness but instead of thinking about their pain think of their loved ones and those they may leave behind.
They who are truly brave are not those who are merely confident of their own strength. Those who are truly brave are those who know that there is a God who loves them, a God who will be their Strength when all else fails, a God who will never disappoint them when every source of comfort and hope seems far away.
“Courage is found in unlikely places.” – J.R.R.Tolkien