A Courageous Life
“Have courage”, we often say to one another. Courage is a spiritual virtue. The word courage comes from the Latin word cor, which means “heart.”
A courageous act is an act coming from the heart. A courageous word is a word arising from the heart. The heart, however, is not just the place our emotions are located.
The heart is the center of our being, the center of all thoughts, feelings, passions, and decisions. A courageous life, therefore, is a life lived from the center. It is a deeply rooted life, the opposite of a superficial life.
“Have courage” therefore means “Let your center speak.”
—Henri J. M. Nouwen,
Bread for the Journey
Abraham is known as ‘the father of the faith’ for the example he set in following God. We read his story in Genesis. “The LORD said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to a land I will show you’” (Genesis 12:1). Don’t miss what’s missing in that instruction—no destination or directions are given! If you look closely at the calling God gave Abram, while it’s void of step-by-step and turn-by-turn directions, it is absolutely full of promises! What God did say: “to a land I will show you,” “I will make you into a great nation,” “I will bless you,” I will make your name great,” I will bless those who bless you,” I will curse those who curse you” (Genesis 12:2-3 emphasis added). Abram’s journey unfolds over the next several chapters of Genesis. It was anything but smooth sailing. The story is replete with obstacles and hurdles—some self-inflicted as Abram tried to “help” God bring his promises to pass. There were many opportunities for discouragement along the way. It was quite a journey between that initial call to Abram and when he became Abraham—the father of the faithful!
Remember all those ‘I wills’? At every juncture, at every impasse—even on those occasions when Abram foolishly acted on his own—God was at work behind the scenes. He promised “I will” and he did! The writer of Hebrews tells us, “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8). This is where courage steps in—letting our center speak to us, recalling God’s promises and the many occasions in which He has shown up, faithful to His promises in our lives. Courage is faith, believing, and obeying in response to that belief.
Abraham’s journey, messy as it sometimes was, is summed up as an example of faith. There were occasions of discouragement, doubt, uncertainty and even folly—all the while God was at work behind the scenes. Abraham stepped out in faith and stumbled along after God. Faith is like that. But we can be assured that the destination is in God’s capable hands. Let us go and do likewise! —DH
—David Hoskins, Founder & Care Guide, Sanctuary Clinics