Joshua 1:9 – Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Merriam Webster defines courage as, “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.” We tend to think of courage in terms of big, bold acts like David standing before Goliath, Moses going before Pharaoh and leading his people out of Egypt, or Joshua leading his people into the Promised Land.

I prefer the definition, “being afraid of what you have to do, and doing it anyway.”  In this way, we see that it requires courage to do anything that takes us out of our comfort zone.  Maybe it is teaching a class for the first time. Maybe it’s talking to a stranger, or inviting a friend to church.  Maybe it’s calling a friend to comfort them in a time of need when you have no idea what to say. As my coffee cup wisdom reminds me, “courage doesn’t always roar, sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.”

Jesus told his disciples to go “make disciples of all the nations” in Matthew 28:18-20.  And then he said, “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”  When we are striving to do God’s will, He will be with us.  We must be of good courage and not be afraid. Paul told Timothy, in 2 Tim 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”