One definition of courage is "the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc, without fear".
Throughout history, people have honoured the virtue of courage. Courage is when we don't give up at the first hurdle. Courage is when we keep going in the face of opposition. Courage is when we face enemies determined to harm us or stop us doing the right thing, but face down our fear and carry on regardless.
It's been described as "the grace to keep on keeping on".
Nothing great was ever accomplished without courage, because the easy things don't need it. And Christians are courageous not just because of any natural gifts we might have, but because of a fundamental Bible truth: that God is with us. Here are 10 Bible verses about courage.
1. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you Deuteronomy 31:6).
2. 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).
3. David also said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you" (1 Chronicles 28:20).
4. Even if you go and fight courageously in battle, God will overthrow you before the enemy, for God has the power to help or to overthrow (2 Chronicles 25:8).
5. "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him" (2 Chronicles 32:7).
6. But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid" (Matthew 14:27).
7. When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realised that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13).
8. So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me (Acts 27:25).
9. Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong (1 Corinthians 16:13).
10. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death (Philippians 1:20).
Follow Mark Woods on Twitter: @RevMarkWoods
