Articles
Courage for These Times
Courage is not needed if there is nothing to fear.
After spending a night in jail for preaching the resurrected Christ, Peter and John were brought before the authorities and ordered to stop preaching. Peter replied, “. . . for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.”
After being released they joined their brethren in praying that the Lord would “grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness.”
Request granted. “. . . they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:20, 29, 31).
Faith over fear.
“. . . for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (1 Tim. 1:7).
As we face increased opposition from unbelievers, we must, like the apostles, be bold, not timid; firm, yet kind. We must strengthen our faith, not surrender to our fears.
There’s another area where we need courage to stand. It isn’t easy to be bold when from every direction we hear COVID! COVID! COVID!
It is one thing to exercise wise caution. It is quite another to cower.
What we need is FAITH! FAITH! FAITH!
God has not promised that we won’t catch the virus. But He has promised us this: “. . . do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7).
So, virus or no virus, let’s assemble each Lord’s Day with our brothers and sisters in Christ, knowing this is where we really need to be (Heb. 10:24-25).
See you Sunday?
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
