Courage

What follows was inspired by a spin-off thought I had, whilst listening to the bible being read at my church meeting this morning. We were reading Joshua 1:5-8.

The Lord commands Joshua to be strong and courageous when leading the people into conquering the land of Canaan, but when he commands Joshua to lead the people in obeying the Law, (The written down words of God.) he tells him to be strong and very courageous...

I have often, on the surface of things, fancied myself as a Braveheart like figure, but in truth, I feel quite weak and queasy at the thought of slaughtering a lamb for lunch, let alone charging into battle, sword in hand, trying to avoid being sliced by an enemy sword and simultaneously thrusting my own into as many enemy bodies as possible.

But military courage, hard as it is, is not the greatest battle requiring the greatest courage.

The greatest battle requiring the greatest strength and courage is that of being faithful to obey all of the words that God has spoken. Spiritual courage, the courage of obedience and faith requires the greatest resolve and therefore the greatest help. That is why, to those who look to Jesus and the Holy Spirit to help them persevere and overcome in this life, God will give the greatest reward in the next life. Not a temporary one, but an eternal one.

It won't be the military heroes who are welcomed into Heaven, but rather the ramshackle bunch of individuals who have, for better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, lovingly obeyed, even unto death, the One who loved them first and gave his life for them.

Trying to make myself look good...

This morning I read 1 Samuel 15.

Saul, one of the main figures in the chapter, frightens me. Why? Because I see more of him in myself than I would like.

Saul leads the Israelites into disobeying a command of God. This is bad enough, but he then goes a hypocritical step further and dresses his disobedience up as obedience and worship!
When he is finally exposed as a liar, his true motive comes out: he wanted to please the people more than please God. God's verdict is that he is no longer fit to be God's king over God's people.

Passages like this bring me up short. How often have I disobeyed the simple commands of God, even going to the point of deceiving myself that I am doing Him a favour. And all I am really doing is pursuing my own ends, namely that I want to be approved by certain people more than approved by God. Man, how I need help! More often than I care to admit!

Thank you Jesus that you are a perfect king over all. Thank you for mercy to fools like me! Please help me to desire your approval more than anyone else's. Amen. PS God, I know the answer to that prayer is going to hurt, but I believe in faith it will be worth it!