Tag: courage

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Judges Devotionals

Hasn’t the Lord gone before you?

Deborah

Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has handed Sisera over to you. Hasn’t the Lord gone before you?” (Judges 4:14)

Just thinking on those words today: “Hasn’t the Lord gone before you?”

God never tells me to go somewhere where he’s not leading the way. And the longer I live, the more I see that in my life.

Sometimes taking steps of faith is scary. It was scary for Barak. It’s scary for me.

But as I think on Deborah’s words, my prayer is this:

Father, you have proven to me that you are good. You’ve proven that you always go before me. So help me to keep taking steps of faith forward, following you. And lead on.

Categories
Acts

The God who stands near us

Acts

Sometimes, we tend to think of the apostles and other people in the Bible as superheroes. That they always faced death courageously and without fear.

Certainly there were times they were like that. (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego certainly seemed that way, among others).

But I don’t know if that was always the case. They were human just like us, after all.

And as I read this passage in Acts 23, I wonder what was going on in Paul’s heart.

He had just been involved in a situation that had become so violent that the Roman commander got him out of there thinking Paul was going to get torn to pieces by his accusers.

As Paul lay in bed that night, what was he thinking? Was he experiencing doubt? Fear? Was he worrying about if he could accomplish the things he had thought God desired him to do.

Whatever he was thinking, it says in verse 11,

The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” (Acts 23:11)

A few things strike me here.

First, the Lord stood near Paul. And it’s a reminder to me that even through our darkest times, through our trials, and through our doubts and fears, the Lord is always standing by us.

Second, the Lord told Paul, “Take courage.”

Why would you tell someone to take courage if they already had it?

Perhaps because of all his circumstances, Paul was wavering a bit. But the Lord steadied him and said, “Take courage.”

Sometimes we too waver a bit in our faith. We waver concerning the path God has put us on. But God gives us the same message he gave Paul. “Take courage.”

Why should we take courage?

Because God will accomplish his will in our lives and no power on this earth can stop him. He told Paul,

As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.

In other words, “Don’t worry about all those opposing you. You will fulfill the purposes I have called you to. Just stand strong and keep trusting in me.”

How about you? Are you starting to lose faith because of your circumstances? Are you starting to give in to fear because of the opposition you’re facing?

Take courage. Know that the Lord is near. And keep trusting and following him, knowing that he will accomplish his will in your life.

Let us remember the words of Paul himself, who said,

The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:5-7)

Categories
Proverbs

To be a leader

What does it mean to be a leader?  I think that we can get some clues from this passage.

Agur writes,

There are three things that are stately in their stride, four that move with stately bearing:  a lion, mighty among beasts, who retreats before nothing; a strutting rooster, a he-goat, and a king with his army around him.  (Proverbs 30:29-31)

To be a leader is to be like a lion which always faces whatever challenges confront it.  

Some people walk confidently about…until something goes wrong.  At which point they hastily retreat, and are quick to cede their authority and leadership to another. 

A true leader, however, walks with confidence.  Why?  Because they know that God is with them.

You see this in Saul and David. 

When Goliath challenged the armies of Israel, saying to send their best man to face him, everyone looked to Saul because number one, he was their king, and number two, he was the biggest of all the Israelites. 

What did Saul do?  He hid in his palace, and instead offered a reward to anyone who would take his responsibility and fight this giant.

David, on the other hand, rose up and took on the giant.  What was his reasoning?

The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine (1 Samuel 17:37).

And because God was with him, he took down Goliath.

A leader is alert and prepared for action. 

What in the world does a strutting rooster have to do with being alert and prepared for action, do you ask? 

Nothing that I can think of, but then again, the Hebrew words translated “strutting rooster” are not so clearly translated. 

In other words, no one really knows what they mean.  Literally, they mean “one girt about the loins.” 

Some commentators have said it perhaps means “a man dressed in armor” while others have said it was a warhorse dressed for battle.

There are many possible translations people have put forth.  With the different translations, you can come up with different applications. 

But as I look at the literal meaning, it reminds me of Peter’s words when he said,

Therefore, prepare your minds for action (literally, “gird the loins of your mind); be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.  (1 Peter 1:13)

Knowing that Christ is coming back, we need to always be prepared as leaders to do the things he has called us to do.

A leader leads.  

I suppose that should be self-evident.  But as a he-goat will always go before the flock, so should leaders, taking them in the direction that God himself is leading them.

A leader has people that are willing to follow.  

Another seemingly self-evident fact, but one that people don’t always think about. 

My pastor in Hawaii always said, “I can tell if a person is a leader if people follow them.  They may not think of themselves as leaders.  They may not feel qualified.  But they are leaders.”

On the other hand, you can’t consider yourself a leader if no one is willing to follow you. 

But if you have followers committed to you, and willing to go to battle with you as an army with a king, you can accomplish great things.

But Agur warns us there are those that would exalt themselves, and thus play the fool.  Who look down on others, and abuse their power. 

These are not leaders.  Or at least they won’t be leaders for long, because by their actions, they will stir up anger and strife, and all their would-be followers, will soon disappear.

How about you?  What kind of leader are you?

Categories
Esther

Courage

Esther

If there was one quality that both Mordecai and Esther had, it was courage.

Whether you agree or not with Mordecai’s decision not to bow to Haman, it did require courage not to do so, especially in the face of the pressure he received from the royal officials.

And here, he admonished his cousin Esther to have courage too.

When Esther heard that Mordecai was in mourning, she immediately sent her servants to find out what was wrong.

Mordecai then told her of the coming disaster, and asked her to intercede for them before the king.

But there was a problem.  Esther hadn’t seen the king in a month.

Whether it was that he was simply too busy, or that perhaps his attention was being taken by one of his other concubines at the time, not only had Esther not seen Xerxes, she wasn’t sure if he wanted to see her.

One wonders what seeds of doubt might have crept into her heart at that time.

Did she start to wonder if Xerxes had found out about her Jewish background, and had passed this law in order to get rid of her?

According to Persian law, it was forbidden to go before the king without invitation.  To do so meant death, unless the king extended his scepter to that person.

Still, in Persian history, it was not unheard of for a person to send a letter to the king asking for an audience.

Esther could have done so, but apparently, she didn’t have enough confidence in her relationship with Xerxes to do even that.

So, with all of these things possibly running through Esther’s mind, you can understand her reluctance to go before Xerxes on behalf of her people, and she told Mordecai as much.

But Mordecai told her,

Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape.

For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish.

And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?  (Esther 4:13-14)

Hard words.  But Esther did what she had always done, and followed the words of Mordecai.  She told him,

Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me.  Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day.  I and my attendants will fast as you do.

When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law.  And if I perish, I perish.  (Esther 4:16)

People often criticize the book of Esther not mentioning the name of God, but I think there’s little doubt that this time of fasting also included seeking God’s favor.

And God answered.  She probably went before the king, heart threatening to beat right out of her chest.

But when Xerxes saw Esther, he extended his scepter to her.  And with that act began the salvation of her people.

What can we get from this?

Sometimes we face hard decisions in our lives that require courage.  Sometimes, like Esther, we face hard words that challenge us to do something that we know is right.  And it’s so much easier to just do nothing.

We make excuses for why we shouldn’t act.  Sometimes, those excuses even make a lot of sense.  There are (seemingly) good reasons for not doing what God asks us to do.

But courage means doing what God has asked us to do no matter the cost.

For Esther, it meant going before Xerxes even possibly at the cost of her life.

There were no guarantees that Xerxes would spare her life.  But Esther entrusted her life to God, doing what he wanted her to do.

We too have no guarantees that if we do God’s will, everything will turn out happily.  Sometimes life gets much harder.

Jesus lived perfectly within the will of God, but he was mocked, beaten, and killed.

Many of his followers suffered the same fate, despite being in God’s will.

But as Mordecai said, God has placed us where we are to do his will.

So let us follow him, like Esther did, no matter what.

Remember the words of Jesus who said,

Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.  (Luke 9:23-24)