A Call To Courage

I find myself without words. 

It has been two weeks since Sandy struck the shores of New Jersey.  How does one describe the devastation and loss that has overtaken us?

I normally process overwhelming issues of life through words.  Somehow working it out on my laptop helps.  Today my hands type, then delete, then pause, then repeat.  This is too big.  Everything I write sounds trite.  There are no words. 

Perhaps those more eloquent or more experienced in this vocation may be able to do a better job at portraying what this state has been through.  Maybe it isn’t that I have no words, maybe I have too many.  I just can’t seem to organize them properly.

One word, though, keeps calling me.   Just one.  It is more instructional then descriptive.  It follows me through-out my day.  As I watch the reports on TV, deliver groceries to the food bank, scan facebook for local updates, and help with neighbors as I can.  One word keeps calling.  Courage. 

I confess at times like this many of us, myself included, find our theology challenged.  What we believed about God and who He is in our lives can be rocked.  He refuses to stay in the box that we have designed for Him.  We question “How could a good God allow this kind of thing to happen?”  We discover that our theology isn’t quite matching our reality. 

I get particularly edgy and uncomfortable around those who think that they have the answers.  They seemed to have it all worked out in their own minds.  I guess I am not as spiritual as some.  Maybe I need to read my Bible more.  It just doesn’t seem that simple to me. 

There is something I do know.  I know the Bible tells us that in the last days we can expect more and more of this kind of thing happening.  “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.  Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.  Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  There will be famines and earthquakes in various places…Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me” (Matt 24:6-9 emphasis mine)

Jesus tells us not to be “alarmed”, but I am.  I can’t help myself.  I am merely flesh.  I suppose if I was more spiritual like those who have all the answers, I wouldn’t be alarmed.  But I quake.  Yet the Spirit keeps whispering “Courage”. 

I am reminded of another place in scripture when a man was faced with fearful circumstances and he too kept hearing the word “courage”.  But that voice didn’t just call him to courage but told him where the source of that courage could be found.  The man was Joshua and the voice was that of the LORD God. 

In the first two chapters of Joshua, we find several encouragements from God that pointed to Joshua’s source of courage as he prepared for the conquest of Canaan, the land God promised to Israel.  I think they might help us to press forward amidst the theological confusion left in the wake of super storm Sandy.

There are five encouragements; we will take them one at a time as we answer the question “Where does Godly courage come from?”

Courage comes from knowing that God will fulfill His promises.

“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.”    Joshua 1:6

Joshua could be courageous in what God was asking Him to do because God always keeps His promises.  Did you notice it says that God was giving them the land?  While God was going to give them the land, they were going to have to fight to take it.  What spiritual land has God promised to you that the enemy is sitting on?  What do you have to fight for?

Courage comes knowing you will succeed as you obey God

“Be strong and very courageous.  Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go”  Joshua 1:7

Joshua’s courage was rooted in following his commanding officer, his LORD God and the battle plan He had laid out for him.  Knowing that God would be faithful to fulfill His promise, all Joshua needed to do was listen and obey. 

Courage comes from knowing God is with us

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”  Joshua 1:9 (emphasis mine)

Not much one can add to that.

Courage comes from having people that encourage you.

“Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your word, whatever you may command them, will be put to death.  Only be strong and courageous.”  Joshua 1:18.

After Joshua gave the marching order to the Israelites to go into the land and fight for what God said would be theirs, this was the peoples response.  This time the call to “be strong and courageous” came from the Israelites to Joshua.  Do you surround yourself with people who encourage you to act courageously?

Courage comes from the right perspective

“”I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you…..When we heard of it our hearts melted and everyone’ courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.”  Joshua 2:9 &11 (emphasis mine)

At this point, the Israelites are sitting on the edge of the Jordan and two spies have been sent in to scout out the territory for military intel.  They meet a prostitute Rahab in Jericho who gives them the perspective of their enemy.  They were melting in fear and their courage had failed them.  The Israelites had the upper hand.  They had a change of perspective that would bring them courage.  They had a sneak peek of what was really going on.  How does your perspective need to change so you could walk more courageously?

The life of Joshua compels me to live more fully for God.  What set this man apart from everyone else?  I think it was because He chose to live strong before the LORD.  No matter what transpired and how dire the situation, he chose to trust and stay loyal to God.  Even though he was born into slavery in Egypt, lost his parents at an early age, spent forty years in the wilderness because his fellow Israelites didn’t have the same faith he had when first approached the promised land, He stayed loyal to God.  Even though he watched his spiritual leaders and heroes die one by one until only his fellow believing spy Caleb was left, and he would be in constant warfare and bloodshed over the remainder of his life, he still remained loyal to the LORD.  Even when it didn’t make sense.

Joshua chose to believe God rather than what his circumstances might dictate.  Joshua was loyal through his whole life.  Through every experience, he believed that God was working it for good.  No matter how things looked and even if he couldn’t understand the way of things, he stayed devoted to God.  Because of this loyalty God was able to work out His plan for His people through Joshua. 

So what do we do with this?  How do we continue with spiritual courage in spite of Sandy?  How do we stay loyal to the end like Joshua?  Listen to this account I borrowed from Living Fearlessly by Lenya Heitzig and Penny Rose (p31)

Some jest that God was working overtime when He created the natural wonders of Hana, Hawaii.  But locals say God went out of His way to work a miracle when their ancestors began building a church in 1860.  Legend says men were diving for coral to make stone for the church, but the process was difficult and dangerous since the coral was deep offshore.  They were forced to swim out far, dive deep, and come up with only small amounts of coral each dive.  Then a storm hit and swept coral from the deep onto the beach.  This allowed the community to gather what they needed and finish their building.  When the church was completed, another storm came and washed the coral back out to sea.  They decided to name the church The Coral Miracle Church. 

Could God be building His church because of a storm?  Could the shaking brought by Sandy be the very thing that turns people to Him?  Could the calamity and devastation be the catalyst that will help us see our need for Him?  Maybe we need to be like Joshua and even though things don’t make sense, trust God anyway.

I don’t know.  It seems right to me.  Like I said, I don’t have all the answers.  Only a word.

Courage

          “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be women of courage; be strong.  Do everything in love”                    1 Corinthians 16:13