Godly Courage

2 Corinthians 5:⁶ Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— ⁷ for we walk by faith, not by sight— ⁸ we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. ⁹ Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.

To walk by faith and not by sight is a sign of a deeper faith walk for those who are born again in the Spirit. When we are born again in the Spirit, the Spirit takes control, and we can either accept that control or try to shut it off. I say try, because in reality, we have surrendered our lives to the Lord, and He is in control. So why not let God have it all in every area of life and just chill out and trust God? When we have doubts, those doubts are usually showing that we have not surrendered everything to God, and our faith suffers from holding back.

In the above verses, the courage Paul is describing is not just courage, but good courage. That courage is good because it is stimulated by God as He shows us more through His Word about life itself and how we should view it. When we see life in the way God does, we begin to realize our thinking about life is definitely limited and finite. God's view about life is unlimited and infinite at its core, and this view gives us a Godly perspective on everything, and then this perspective helps us respond in the way Jesus taught. Just look at the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:³ Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. ⁵ “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. ⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. ⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. ⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. ⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. ¹⁰ “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The blessing in looking and responding to life as Jesus told us to changes how we perceive everything in life. I have heard the individual verses taught, or attempted to be taught, and it is a hard sell to convince me they have the blessings promised, so I look at them as a lifestyle that is the result of courageously following and living all our lives like Jesus. Then we are true disciples. This takes a Godly courage that is provided by trusting God in everything and leaving the details to Him.

The end result is a Godly courage that leads us to have a life ambition that is totally given to our Heavenly Father, and it changes our perspective on life. We will not "settle" for half-truths from the Word of God or other people's opinions about life. We know who we are and who we follow completely, and the result is a life of grace and faith, and that life honors God and not just me or the world. I guess you could say we are "all in." Do you have the courage to "give it all to Him?" Trust Him and see your courage become Godly Courage and your ambition in life will be to please Him!!

The Pilgrimage Continues,

David Warren