Courage is a funny thing. It’s kind of like patience. It’s a trait you only know you have if it’s truly tested. And no one ever wants to take that test.
David, long before he became the most famous King in Israel, showed incredible courage by facing the giant Goliath. We often think of courage like that, facing the giants in life, doing the heroic deed. However, I think courage most often shows up in much more subtle ways.
Perhaps courage is best demonstrated in the bravery of the every day, the painful mundane:
- Healing from a miscarriage
- Managing anxiety and fear
- Enduring medical treatments and tests
- Working through depression
- Helplessly watching your child’s tragic choices
- Being a single parent
- Persevering amid recurring physical pain
- Surviving a devastating loss
- Keeping up with the drudgery of life
- Pressing on when things in life didn’t work out like you expected…at all!
Walking through life in the midst of struggle and pain takes courage, some would even say good courage. The apostle Paul, while walking out his own daily struggle, said “So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:6-7 ESV)
In a previous post, Good Enough, I mentioned that Jesus said no one is good except God alone (Mark 10:18). Jesus’ half-brother James also says that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17 ESV). In other words, only God is good and therefore all good things can only come from God.
So then, what is the “good courage” to which Paul refers? Consider that when we walk by faith in God, with God, we have access to His goodness. Scripture records numerous places where God told His followers to be strong, to be courageous, and to remember that He is with them. Perhaps that is what makes courage good. We bring the faith and the willingness to try and God brings His presence, His goodness, to the equation.
Sometimes life just takes courage. Oh sure, there are big, pivotal moments that take courage. Yet, the real courage, good courage, is getting up and getting back in the fight day after day. Facing the pain and loss, the heartache, the despair, and clinging tightly, in faith, to that which is Good.
How are you demonstrating good courage these days?