Courage

The word courageous is everywhere I turn.  I see it in movie titles and the Word.  I heard it at the retreat.  It jumps off the page of everything I read.

I don't consider myself a courageous person.  Somewhere along the way, I associated courage with being a risk taker and risk taker I am not.  I am safe.  I like stability.  I don't enjoy venturing down paths that will require something of me that I didn't even know I possessed.

So, for a long time, the word courage kind of scared me.

And then, I looked up the Hebrew.  To be of good courage (Is. 41:6 and Ps. 31:24) can mean this:
courage:  chazaq "to fasten upon, be confirmed, persevere"
good:  towb "good, beautiful, bountiful, joyful"

I think sometimes courage is simply walking in faith and accepting our beautiful confirmation.  God seems to provide little hints along the way that we are on the right path or that He indeed promised a certain thing.  Courage has a lot to do with waiting.  As we wait, He sends strength into our hearts as we have the courage to hope.

Perhaps courage is perfected in the waiting.  It takes courage to trust God to make good on His word.  It takes courage to believe that He will bring about His plan when all else shouts otherwise.  It takes courage to persevere and be constant in your calling.  God is our source of chazaq and we can ask Him for it!

CS Lewis wraps it up:  "Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point."

Are you being tested?  Be of good courage!  Accept your beautiful confirmation from God that all is well and keep persevering, sweet thing.  There is going to be a joyful bounty at the end of this.