Revival Rising: Loving God and the Lost With All That You Are Sample

Reinforcing Your Courage

Many years ago, while working as a short-term missionary in Canada, the shack that I shared with another woman was attacked one night by a 300-pound drunk man. From that night, I learned this truth: When we are in the center of God’s will for our life, we are more safe in a plastic-bag shack besieged by a drunk in the Canadian wilderness than we are in our fortified homes surrounded by an army in a city. Our God is with us wherever we go.

No matter what we face, God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit are with us.

So does that mean that we will never suffer? Not at all. It means that we can trust Him to be with us through every challenge we will ever face.

As believers, we are going to face deep waters. We are going to encounter rivers of difficulty. We are going to walk through the fire of oppression. And our God will be at our side every step of the way.

Courage is the understanding that it is better to be anywhere uncomfortable with Jesus than to be anywhere comfortable without Him.

When we willingly position our hearts within His—no matter what circumstances we are in—this is where everything that He is becomes ours. His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control flood into our soul like rich golden oil. And in this place, there is peace.

Resembling a two-edged sword, the courage and peace of our God cannot be separated. The courage of our King is always peaceful. And the peace of our King is always courageous. 

Jesus told His disciples they would face sorrows and trials in this world, yet they would find peace in Him. When we truly have His courage, we will always have His peace—in any situation.

No matter what we face in this world, we can choose to stand within the peace that Jesus offers. Standing in His peace is where “taking heart” or courage is forged. And we can rest in His courage because we know that He has already overcome every battle that we will ever encounter in this life.

Prayer: Jesus, ignite my heart to fear no evil. Galvanize my strength to carry forward Your all-powerful love into the darkness. Today, I choose to stand on the truth that the enemy might start the fight, but You, Jesus, always finish it! Open my eyes to the precious power of what I carry for You. Your redemption for all is a priceless treasure worth standing for. And because of Your renewed courage within me, I choose to stand today for You—Your glory—Your beautiful redemption for all. Amen.