Wednesday, April 13
Courage
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. —Deuteronomy 31:6
I live in awe of those people of past and modern times whose rock-solid faith has been tested and proven in the harshest of ways – those who have professed their love of God or Jesus while faced with literal life or death choices. I think of Christians practicing their faith in countries whose regimes seek to destroy them, prisoners of concentration camps or prisoners of war, missionaries martyred by those they seek to serve, and the many others like the young Columbine High School student who professed to her faith in God even while knowing that she would be gunned down for her words.
In our community, we live in relative peace and security, not called to face life or death situations engendered by our faith. How courageous are we? How courageous am I?
Every day I rely on the Holy Spirit to guide me. The Spirit fills me with love and compassion for my neighbor, helps channel my thoughts to the good, and suffuses me with grateful joy when I am surrounded by the magnificence of God’s creation. But, I don’t know if courage resides in me. I pray that it does, that it will. I want to stand for God as He has always stood for me. I think, however, that I will never truly know until I am profoundly tested.
Merciful God, hear my prayer for steadfast courage. Let my love for you always be the foundation of all that I do. I live in deep gratitude for the ever-present guidance of the Holy Spirit, your heaven-sent gift to each of us. Thank you, gracious Father! Amen.
Betty Schroeder