Entry: 12/4/02
2CH 32:6 He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate and encouraged them with these words: 7 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. 8 With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles." And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.
I have a few good friends that inspire me. Every time I am around them I leave encouraged, inspired and challenged to be more of a risk taker fro Christ. They make me laugh, they make me wonder and, quite frankly, they rub me wrong. The last thing a man needs in his life is a bunch of “yes man” friends who are too gutless to challenge the friends they say they love and want to win. To love is to challenge.
Wining takes challenge. Winning takes confrontation. Winning takes inspiration. Winning takes perspiration.
Do you have the kind of courage that inspires and encourages those around you to step out in faith? Or do those around you fall into the faith that conforms? Does your example cause people to stand in courage, or sit in fear? Hezekiah modeled a life that inspires courage.
Courage begins with being right before God (31:20).
Biblical courage starts at its origin-God. God is where the rubber meets the road. God is where the bucks stops, and without the “righteousness life God desires (James 1:20)” there is no courage. Courage is defined by the object it trusts the most. Only God warrants our complete trust and, thus, our complete courage. We cannot be courageous for God until we step out in faith.
It takes courage to repent of a sexually involved relationship outside of marriage. It takes courage to confess to robbing your employer. It takes courage to admit your secret sins. It takes courage to ask for help to overcome and addiction. It takes courage to admit the error in your thinking. Do you get the point?
Inspiring courage in others means living courageously ourselves (2 Chronicles 32:5). A man cannot expect his life to inspire others towards courage if he is acting cowardly.
I remember the night in 2003 when we announced our resignation in order to move to McMinnville, Oregon. We had ministered to teenagers for 14 consecutive years and God was moving us on. As some students broke down in tears, and others stared in shock, I vividly remember one of our students saying, “Jim, I am so sad to see you go but it is so exciting to watch you live out the faith that you have been telling us about for so long.” What she was saying was that the courage of Shanna and I to act on God’s will was validating everything we had said to her for years. You see, your courage (or lack thereof) will either validate or negate the courage in others.
In verses 3-6 we see the king administrating three acts of courage in preparation for war: He cut off the enemy’s water supply, fixed the walls, and made more weapons. In other words, he made preparations for war! Thus, inspiring his men to fight and die for him. I believe that men will search their entire lives for someone to give them the courage and point out the hill that they will die on. History plays out that men will gladly die for a cause modeled by courage.
A man’s biggest dilemma is often as simple as never having seen what courage looks like. A man needs to model courage to his wife, children and the men with whom he associates. Inspiring courage in others not only takes stepping out in faith but inspiring others to step out as well (6).
Man, ask yourself, “Who have I gathered around me that inspires me towards courage and who can I inspire in Christ?
