Since 1904, the Carnegie Hero Fund has recognized individuals who knowingly and voluntarily risk their life to save another person. Recent heroes have risked drowning, animal attacks, fire, and criminal assault to rescue someone in peril; often someone they do not even know. These heroes act instinctively and impulsively without concern for their safety. They overcome their fears for someone else’s benefit, and we certainly admire their bravery. While God’s Word commends this momentary courage (think of David facing Goliath), God’s children are more often called to muster another type of courage and boldness. We are commanded to display a deliberate, thoughtful, and settled courage that comes from being faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ. Our obedience to God may cause us to confront risks and dangers to our physical or emotional well-being, to our loved ones or our relationships, and to our financial security or possessions. We are commanded to, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed”. (Joshua 1) Courage is not the absence of fear and danger but doing what is right even if there is risk and peril. We admire the people of God who personify this settled, deliberate courage. Esther with King Ahasuerus. Daniel and his friends in Babylon. And Jesus facing the cross utterly alone.
Even the world recognizes the importance of courage and admires those who overcome their fears. Maya Angelou said, “Without courage we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.” William Faulkner said, “Be scared. You can’t help that. But don’t be afraid.” Winston Churchill declared, “Of all human qualities, courage was the most esteemed, because it guaranteed all others.” C.S. Lewis stated, “Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.”
We might think courage is only for a few exceptional people, and that courage is not something that matters to me. What does it matter to the Kingdom of God if I live faithfully with boldness and bravery? Throughout the Bible various lists of sins are strongly condemned: Proverbs 6, Galatians 5, Ephesians 5, and Colossians 3. But Revelation 21:8 has an especially chilling description of the characteristics of those who will spend eternity in hell. “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Cowards lead this list of people excluded from the Kingdom of God in heaven. It is unsettling that God groups cowards with killers, perverts, and deceivers. In God’s mind, living a faithful, courageous and bold live is no minor, insignificant matter.
OK, courage is important and admirable, but where do we find godly courage? I certainly cannot find the courage within myself to do what is right against all the people who oppose God and His Kingdom. And it does not matter if we are victorious in this world. Hebrews 11 recounts those who seemed to be defeated and yet received something far better from God. Thankfully, what God commands, He also graciously provides the strength and power to obey. In Deuteronomy 31 and Joshua 1, we are promised that because the Lord will be with us wherever we go, we can be courageous. In Psalm 27 and 31, we are promised that if we wait for the Lord, we will be strong and bold. In 2 Corinthians 3, since we have hope in the sufficiency of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, we can be live boldly, faithfully and obediently to God in a world of dangers, threats, and risks.