2 Samuel 10:12
Be of good courage, and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God: and the LORD do that which seemeth him good.
Joab and the armies of Israel faced a war from the Ammonites. The Ammonites had surrounded Israel’s troops, and the Scriptures say that the Ammonites were before and behind Israel. In other words, every place the armies of Israel looked, they saw the armies of the Ammonites. Joab looked at their situation and said, Be of good courage. In other words, he was saying this was not a time to be weak; this was a time for God’s people to be courageous and face the impossible task of defeating this army. Joab was saying that he would rather die in the battle being courageous than to surrender to the enemy and become servants or slaves to these heathen people. God rewarded Joab and the men in this army by giving them the victory. Had they not been courageous, we would be reading how Israel was taken as slaves to these heathen people.
Every day you face battles before and behind, but what you do with those battles is what determines what those battles do to you. You will never live a successful and victorious Christian life without being of good courage. Let me share what being of good courage means.
First, courage is a choice not a gift. You are not gifted to be courageous; you choose to be courageous. The only reason some have more courage than others is because some choose to be more courageous than others. Nobody can force you to be of good courage; it is a choice you must make every day that you face troubles in life.
Second, courage is the choice to act on faith and not on fear. Living by faith is not easy. Those who live by faith are courageous enough not to allow fear control their lives. It takes courage to live by faith, but the courage to live by faith is what allows God to do great works through your life. Courage is always a part of faith living, and without the choice to face the dangers that faith living presents, you will never see what God can do through your life because of faith.
Third, courage is the choice to trust God and not succumb to unbelief. Trusting God takes courage because you are trusting the One you cannot see. Certainly, you can let unbelief control your decisions, but it is those who are courageous enough to trust God who learns that trusting God never leads you the wrong way.
Fourth, courage is the choice to step out and not to wait for an easier time. Too many are waiting for everything to fall into place before they step out, but there is no courage or faith in this type of living; by the way, there is also no accomplishment in this type of living. Accomplishments are achieved by having the courage to step out and face the difficult. Nobody has accomplished anything without stepping out when it was hard to do so.
Fifth, courage is the choice to face the difficult instead of running and hiding from it. Life throws difficulties at you at every turn, but you cannot run from those difficulties and see them resolved. You will only resolve life difficulties by being courageous enough to face them instead of running and hiding from them.
My friend, it is those who choose to be courageous who see the miraculous happen in their lives. If you want God to do the miraculous in your life, you must be of good courage.
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