“Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD.” (Ps 31:24 AV)
One would think courage comes only to the strong in heart. We think those who are brave and can face down adversity are able to possess and exercise courage. But our beloved songwriter reminds us those weak of heart can and must exercise courage, which begs a question. What exactly is courage? If courage is not necessarily the exercise of bravery in the face of adversity, then what is it? If courage is not taking risks when one feels strong enough to do so, what is it? If courage can be exercised by a weak as well as a strong heart, what does the word mean? Secondly, what are the steps needed to exercise courage despite a weak heart? These questions are important because the promise of a strengthened heart depends on it. If the fear and anxious heart can exercise courage, then fear and anxiety are abated. If the weary and faint of heart can exercise courage amid deep trouble and trial, then strength is the result. So, find the answers we must.
One dictionary defines courage as, “to strengthen, prevail, harden, be strong, become strong, be courageous, be firm, grow firm, be resolute”. Of courage, Webster’s 1828 dictionary says, “Bravery; intrepidity; that quality of mind which enables men to encounter danger and difficulties with firmness, or without fear or depression of spirits; valor; boldness; resolution. It is a constituent part of fortitude; but fortitude implies patience to bear continued suffering. Courage that grows from constitution, often forsakes a man when he has occasion for it; courage which arises from a sense of duty, acts in a uniform manner”. Noah Webster, unbeknownst to him, points out the paradox which we are investigating. He defines courage as being exercised with a strong heart rather than despite a strong heart. On the other hand, his definition does illuminate the solution to our paradox. The phrase, “…but fortitude implies patience to bear continued suffering…” gives us a glimmer of the balance we seek. In the first definition, note the phrases “…become strong…” and “…grow firm…”. In order to become or grow, one must not be those things. In other words, courage is a resolute attitude and action of the will to act or rest upon the promises of God despite how we might feel at the moment.
We face a lot of adversity our whole lives. From the day we are born and the spanking that comes a motivation to take our first breath, to the day we lay on our death bed breathing out our last, our lives are filled with hard times. No matter how much we know the word of God, fear is still a part of life. I cannot think of anyone in the scriptures, including the LORD Jesus Christ, who did not at least once, feel the emotion of fear. The Bible tells us that the Son of God felt anxiety in the garden of prayer prior to His crucifixion. In His human nature, Jesus saw what was coming and it disturbed Him. If the Son of God, with unlimited faith, can feel a bit anxious, what are we to do? The promise above is that if we rest and or act in courage, taking God at His word, then our anxious hearts will be calmed, our weary hearts will become stronger, and our doubting hearts will fill with faith. There is no sense in waiting for a strong heart before we act courageously. Courage may not be needed then. It is when we are at our weakest that we need to double down on the promises of God, go to Him in prayer, and accept what He has revealed in His word, trusting in His Spirit to empower us with perseverance.
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