"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." – Joshua 1:9
Reading the Bible growing up, I fell in love with all the stories of the courageous men written in both Old and New Testament. I wanted to be like Joshua, David, Elijah or Peter stepping out in faith to do the extraordinary: conquering cities, killing giants, stopping rain and walking on water.
But then I grew up and realise that conquests are no longer legal and giants are harmless and only kill on basketball courts. An application of courage doesn't happen anywhere the same as we see in the Bible, but we're still commanded to be courageous. The way we apply courage just looks different.
Courage matters today just as much as it has always. The application has just changed. Here are six ways that we can live out in courage in our day and age.
Step out of your comfort zone. Just as Moses, Abraham and the likes stepped out in faith to obey God by leaving their comfort zones, we too can do the same. While not all will leave a country or lead a nation, we can lead our families or even ourselves or leave a career to follow God into another. It takes just as much Spirit-empowered courage to trust God today as it once did in the Bible.
Go the extra mile for others. The motivation of courage has and always will be love for God and for others. God calls us to be courageous so we can serve, and serving is something we can still do whether at home, at work or in ministry (both vocational or volunteer).
Make bold moves towards goals. The new year has just started and your New Year's resolutions just might still be alive. Guess what? You're going to need courage to keep those goals alive, and so we must walk in courage as we pursue our goals.
Choose faith over fear. Sometimes God might prompt us to walk in generosity and give sacrificially or to be fearless in sharing the gospel to a friend or colleague.
We can walk in the Holy Spirit's power and be courageous as we faithfully obey God's commands.
Stand for your convictions. The world is filled with evil just as in the days of the Bible and we are still called to stand for our convictions. Nowadays, Christians are still ridiculed for their way of life and persecuted for integrity. It will take courage to keep walking that way.
Take risks. A life marked with Christ is never completely certain. As long as we are in this world, there will still be risks—risks of losing a business, a savings fund, a friend, or even your life. We are to take risks knowing that our confidence is in the Lord and not on man.
