Courage

Deuteronomy 31v.6 - "Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you."

As a man, I love movies that embody the characteristic of courage. Whether it's "Saving Private Ryan" or "Band of Brothers," "Braveheart" or "Ferris Buehler's Day Off" (think about the courage that Ferris had in skipping out yet another day of school and facing great punishment with his trip in from the 'burbs to Chi-Town. "24," "The Shield," any football game or rugby match, bull-fighting, the books of Ernest Hemingway, and cigars are other things that embody courageousness. I say cigars because they remind me of Churchill (my favorite historical figure of all time, aside from Christ) and General Patton.

Christian men are called out to live lives of courage and valor. Plain and simple, we are not called to be timid (although we are all guilty of it) nor to be fearful (and there are plenty of things to fear, deep down, in the world that we live in). We are called to rise above this.

Deuteronomy has (seriously) always been one of my favorite books of the Bible. Maybe it's because when I was in third grade, at FBC Lubbock, learning the books of the Bible, I spelled it quicker than Ross Polk and Stuart Blalock. Maybe it's because, deep-down, I'm very much a legalist... in pretty much all areas of my life. Maybe it's just because it's one of the main books of the Law, and I have had spouts of desiring to be a lawyer at all different points in my life (in fact, I changed majors in college thinking that I was going to go into International  Law). This verse, though, is one big reason I enjoy the book of Deuteronomy, though.

We are called to be strong and to trust in the Lord, not to fear "them." Who is Them? "Them," in my opinion, isn't just a physical foe (like the Springboks), but envelopes all the things that the World tends to throw at us in its attempts to break our wills and hearts. In everything that we face in this life, we MUST remember that God goes before us. Truly loving and trusting in Him, we understand that all of the hardships and doubts we fear and must face are ultimately for His glory. We take great hope in this fact. But, in knowing that God is the one who goes before us, we have the freedom to trust in His strength, in His power, and ultimately, in His goodness towards His children. Knowing this, we can face any circumstance that life throws at us with courage.