Courage Part Two

I keep in my car a devotional written by John Eldredge. I find his insights into living the Christian life thought provoking. On May 10 he quoted Deuternomy 31:6 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid..."
And of course I am very familiar with this verse. So I was interested in his devotion for the day. He qouted G.K. Chesterton: "Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die." 

The best example would be a soldier surrounded by the enemy, who is alert and fighting to save his life because of his desire to live, to return to his family and friends, and yet he is willing to give up that life for what he believes is worth more than his life.  That is courage. To walk into the battle even when you know there is a chance you will not come back. You go in prepared and willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish your goal AND return alive, yet knowing the possibility is real that you will die.

Deborah in Judges 4 knows there is a chance she will die if she joins the battle, but she also knows that she has to fight for her people. She also knows that God has said the enemy will be defeated. Now that is not a guarantee of life. All battles have casualties. Yet in reading the story I sense that Deborah would have given up her life if she had been asked. Her mother's heart required her to enter the battle.

There is another woman who was courageous like Deborah: "Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.” Esther 4:15-16 NIV  Esther knew there was a real possibility she would die if she went to the King without being summoned. It was the law. Yet the King was the only one who could also grant mercy if he so chose. And Esther needed to the King's help to save her people.

Now most of us do not have a nation of people who depend upon us. But most of us do have a family or church family or work family that does depend on our strength and courage in these troubling times.  It's not just the economy, but also the pervasive lack of kindness, a growing attitude of what-about-me-me-me? I think it takes courage to smile, to listen to others, to come alongside our family as they struggle through our very daily lives. It takes courage to get out of bed everyday and do the best you can to love God and love others.  Yet how do I find that courage every morning?  How do we bring it to others?