![]() ![]() “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body they cannot touch your soul. ![]() Courage is Not the Absence of All Fear, but the Mindful Fear of One Here, then, are some biblical principles which should help us move towards a clearer understanding of what it means to have courage. They alone provide the base structure which gives shape and stability to our definitions. According to such a definition after all, both Hitler and Churchill could share living space on the “courage” continuum.Īs with all things, if we want to arrive at anything conclusive we must start and end with the Scriptures. Merriam-Webster defines courage as the “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.” However this seems like one of those broad definitions that manages to not actually tell us anything while also holding the door open for all kinds of uncourageous people. But what does it actually mean to have courage? Without other believers to point us to Christ, we will not defeat our anxieties.Recently it seems that everyone from celebrities to scientists to LCBO workers are being heralded as paragons of courage. We cannot live the Christian life alone, as Paul says, we must have relationships in which we mutually encourage each other to trust God (1 Thess. When the Lord rescued us from sin, He did not save us for a life in isolation, He bought for Himself the church with His own blood. You will notice that the assistance of others was encouraged when we looked at general anxiousness and specific fears. ![]() Stimulating courage in one another is therefore a vital ministry. A courageous person acts despite being afraid there is nothing special about doing that which he does not fear. Seeking the counsel of a pastor, friend, or counselor can also help us discern what may lie behind the anxiety.Ĭourage is the opposite of fear and no one can be courageous unless he first has fear. Biochemical factors can be involved here and so medical help might be useful. This is the kind of anxiety that can lead to anxiety attacks. ![]() Finally, many people must deal with a general anxiousness that has no obvious provocation. Usually, the best way to deal with these anxieties is to confront that which is feared head on and endure the presence of the object of fear, preferably with others who will encourage us to trust the Lord. Sometimes we fear something objective and specific such as snakes or enclosed spaces. The other two anxieties are not so unique and are common among Christians. Augustine gave us the only remedy for this kind of anxiety in his famous prayer from his Confessions: “Oh Lord, thou hast made us for thyself and our hearts are restless until we rest in thee.” Without belief in Jesus as Savior, no person can ever have true peace (Rom. This is the state of the non-believer because he is estranged from God. Restlessness is the simple name for the first kind of anxiety. While different anxieties all have the same ultimate root cause, dealing with a particular manifestation of this cause may look slightly different in each situation. Having established that a failure to trust the Lord underlies anxiety, it will now be useful to look at three different kinds of fears and how we may overcome them. ![]()
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