- Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...
I know it’s already the 1st of May and we’re still on April’s WOW… but I hope you are enjoying all there is to know about the virtue of courage, especially at its testing point! Grab your coffee and your Strand of Faith and let’s get back to a couple more definitions for courage and then I’ll share one more real-life example!
There’s another definition; are you ready for this one? “Obstinate”!
Yep, courage can be used for the wrong things. How? I’m so glad you asked. Courage is used for the wrong things and in the wrong way when we turn our strengths into stubbornness against God! It truly takes courage to defy God, to rebel against what we know to be right … and the more we participate in courage in this way, the harder our hearts become!
There was another reference under courageous and it does refer to Joshua a couple of times and I just loved it so I wanted to share it with you: Position of inner man -- the soul, which is the seat of wisdom and knowledge – and conscience and moral character. Joshua‘s life is one of my favorite, and definitely one of courage. He was assigned the task of finishing what God sent Moses to do, the completion of which made Biblical history.
Speaking of tasks that take courage to complete, have you ever tried to do something you were completely afraid to do? Well, the day after arriving here in Cabo, we set off with our adventurous friends down the beach toward the giant rocks that divided our resort from the infamous Lover’s Beach. Now, the highest point of those rocks is approximately 70-80 feet, maybe higher! Now, I don’t mind telling you I have a definite fear of heights and just looking up at the highest point of the rock made my stomach queasy. As I was looking up, and watching the ocean seemingly angry this morning, Rodney declared we would and could do it! And then he added, you can write about it!
Now I am not one who looks for thrills, nor am I one to take risks, per say, but … uh-huh, I said “but,” I am up for challenges and our WOW came into mind. As I began the ascent up each rock behind Rodney and Cheryl, and my honey behind me, my legs were shaking and there were these gigantic butterfly-like feelings in my stomach. I began to hear, “Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go,” even to the highest rock!
As we made it to what I thought was the peak, I looked out and over only to realize that in order to get to our destination, we had to go down the other side of what we had just climbed up and go up another mountain of rocks even higher and more dangerous than the first as this set was consistently being sprayed by the waves of the ocean daring to dance with rock climbers!
My heart fell and I began to have visions of
going backwards, and not continuing. Talk about discouraging … having
climbed all this way only to turn around and not reach the destination?
Oops, I forgot who we were with! Rodney
told us to stay there and he went ahead to check it out and sort of map
out a way to get there. He looked like a gazelle, hopping from one rock
to the next, stretching, straining, climbing, reaching … and there was
this one set of rocks that were like narrowly hanging that he had to hug
and get around and I just knew I couldn’t do it! But within minutes,
just like that, he was back. Part of me was hoping he’d say nope, no can
do! But, he said, yes, let’s go for it!And so we began the descent, everything in me shaking worse than a leaf on a windy day, and then we started the ascent, the words of Joshua 1:9 echoing in my soul, granting me courage … until we made it to that one spot I just didn’t know how I was going to get by. I literally felt nauseous, discouraged because courage had gotten me into this mess. But that lasted only momentarily. With Cheryl already past it, and Rodney directly in front of me holding out his hand, my husband behind me promising he had my back, and His promise now reverberating in the seat of my soul, I made it around those rocks, up even further and back down to Lover’s Beach.
To
say I felt exhilaration is probably a major understatement. I think
it’s more accurate to say that His promise came alive in me again that
day. I tied another knot in my strand of faith by believing what He says
He will do, He will do!Take a moment, Coffee Hour friend, and think about a leap of faith and the courage you need to jump … and then … take His hand and jump into His promises that will give you courage, even when you are discouraged!
In His courageous and relentless love,
Evinda
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