Courage

What makes a King out of a slave?
What makes the flag on the mast to wave?
What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist or the dusky dusk? What makes the muskrat guard his musk?
Courage.
What makes the Sphinx the 7th Wonder?
What makes the dawn come up like THUNDER?!
What makes the Hottentot so hot?
What puts the "ape" in ape-ricot?
Whatta they got that I ain't got?
Courage!
As quoted by the Cowardly Lion in the “Wizard of Oz”.

Is this a good representation of courage? Probably from a materialistic or secular view it could well be. Some say courage is the discovery that you may not win and trying when you know you can lose.

An action is courageous if you attempt to achieve an end despite penalties, risks, costs, or difficulties that normally deter most people. Similarly a state such as joyfulness is courageous if it is maintained no matter what the difficulties may be. Courage is not the absence of fear, it’s an ability to feel the appropriate amount of fear.

My inside remodeling job this week has been courage. I have courage but not in the areas that I feel I need it most this week. It hurts to be interested in someone and not knowing if that they feel the same way. What even hurts more is to be interested in that person but never finding the courage to let them know how you feel.

I read this story the other day about an Eagle and some chickens. It seems this farmer found an eagle egg out near the edge of the pasture and the forest. He brought it back to the farm and placed it into the chicken coop with hopes that it would still hatch. The miracle is the chickens treated it as there own and it eventually did hatch.

As the eaglet was born the chickens taught him the way of the chicken. How to scratch at the ground and crack the corn; eat the worms; or bugs found there. As a matter of fact, that Eaglet was very good at finding food and became well fed.

About a year or so later the Eaglet turned into a beautiful Eagle. As the Eagle was outside the coop looking for food he gazed upwards, noticing how beautiful the birds in the sky soared through the air.

The Eagle said, “How great would it be to soar and fly like that one day”. The chickens quickly admonished the Eagle saying he couldn’t fly; would get caught in the chicken wire; or if by chance made it out, would die of starvation.

The Eagle believed the chickens and a few weeks later the farmer came to check on the Eagle. The Eagle didn’t seem to be outside the chicken coop so he looked inside the coop. Over in the corner was the Eagle, dead.

What’s this story have to do with courage? We sometimes get so used our lifestyle that we fear stepping out of the box, learning to fly so to speak. If the Eagle only tried, gained courage and didn’t listen to the chickens he would have flown the coop. Sometimes we believe what others say, a sense of familiarity if you will, that keeps us from being who we ought to be. Our prayers and dreams are attainable when we have courage and not when we listen to the chickens.

What/who are your chickens? Are you feeling like your stuck in the chicken coop?

So what does God think of courage???

Deut 31:6-8 (KJV)
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. And Moses called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage: for thou must go with this people unto the land which the Lord hath sworn unto their fathers to give them; and thou shall cause them to inherit it. And the Lord, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.

Psalms 31:24 (KJV)
Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.

If God be for us who can be against.

"Christian courage is the willingness to say and do the right thing regardless of the earthly cost, because God promises to help you and save you on account of Christ."

God Bless