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Courage is doing the right thing in the face of evil.  It is the opposite of cowardice, timidity, sloth, apathy, and hypocrisy.  Jesus lives a deeply courageous life, responding to danger with hope, responding to temptation with faith, and responding to confrontation with love.  Read Matthew 26:36-46; Jesus chooses to trust and obey His Father even though the cost is overwhelming.

Courage is love suffering all things.  Courage can be lost or gained in the presence of fear, yet courage is not the absence of fear, rather courage is persisting to do good in the face of fear, pain, loss, and despair. (1) Courage is gained as God draws near, (2) and speaks His word. (3) Those who have been with Jesus will show startling courage, (4) because courage is how love responds to fear. (5)  Courage includes diligence, faithfulness, initiative, integrity, constancy, and confidence.

Diligence - persisting in goodness over time and trevail. (6)

Faithfulness - staying true to one’s commitments. (7)

Initiative - doing good without being prompted. (8)

Integrity - being the same person, and having the same values, regardless of changing physical and social settings. (9)

Constancy - being a reliably good person. (10)

Confidence - trusting that God’s instructions are good, acting upon them with great strength, and without hesitation. (11)

Courage: Allegiance to God

Jesus’ courage was on display as He was fully allied with God, no matter the cost to Himself. (12) Will we live in courageous allegiance to God? (13)

Courage: Suffering for Others

Jesus was willing to suffer, and even die, for the sake of other people; he did not let fear, pain, or injustice deter him from doing what was best for those around him. (14) Do I embrace hardship in order to do what is best for those around me? (15)

Courage: A Fearless Moral Inventory

Jesus did not hide from the things that tempted Him, frightened Him, or angered Him, instead He confronted these things in the power of the Spirit. (16) Will I “look in the mirror” and, with God’s help, confront whatever I find there? (17)

Courage: The Powers of Darkness

Jesus confronted the demonic forces that twist human beings and the world we live in, at great cost to Himself. (18) Do I stand with God in confronting of the powers of evil at work in our world? (19)

Disciplines focused on Courage:

Confession

Witness

Service