COURAGE TO MOVE FORWARD!

2 Chronicles 15:1-19 NASB

Now the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded, [2] and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the Lord is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you abandon Him, He will abandon you. [3] For many days Israel was without the true God and without a teaching priest and without the Law. [4] But in their distress they turned to the Lord God of Israel, and they sought Him, and He let them find Him. [5] In those times there was no peace for him who went out or him who came in, because many disturbances afflicted all the inhabitants of the lands. [6] Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress. [7] But you, be strong and do not lose courage, for there is a reward for your work.” [8] Now when Asa heard these words and the prophecy which Azariah the son of Oded the prophet spoke, he took courage and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and from the cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He then restored the altar of the Lord which was in front of the porch of the Lord. [9] And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who resided with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. [10] So they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. [11] They sacrificed to the Lord on that day seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep from the spoils they had brought. [12] They entered into the covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and soul; [13] and whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel was to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. [14] Moreover, they made an oath to the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting, trumpets, and with horns. [15] All Judah rejoiced concerning the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and had sought Him earnestly, and He let them find Him. So the Lord gave them rest on every side. [16] He also removed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from the position of queen mother, because she had made an abominable image as an Asherah, and Asa cut down her abominable image, crushed it, and burned it at the brook Kidron. [17] But the high places were not removed from Israel; nevertheless Asa’s heart was blameless all his days. [18] He brought into the house of God the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things: silver, gold, and utensils. [19] And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

 

We all need courage to do various things, from simple tasks to great feats. Courage doesn't come naturally to many of us. Even if you consider yourself a courageous person, there will be times and situations when you wish you were more courageous. Courage is the ability to act on what we know is right and good, to dare to do what we should or must. Fear paralyzes; courage releases us to move forward. Courage renders fear ineffective and gives us the confident assurance that we can succeed.

The Bible speaks a lot about courage, emphasizing how it helps us stand firm against evil, remain strong in our faith, resist temptation, and do the right thing. The more we learn to rely on God, the more courageous we will become. We need courage to deal with life’s challenges. The Lord commands us in Joshua 1:9 to be “strong and courageous and not be afraid or discouraged.” This shows how important courage is to the Lord and to our faith walk.

What do you need courage for? To whom and where are you looking for courage? Courage is not merely the absence of fear but the compulsion to do what is right and needed. King Asa knew he had to do the right thing, and for him to do that, he needed unusual courage. Judah was in decline again; crime rates rose, and various calamities and problems arose because they forsook the Lord. When the Lord’s warning came from Azariah, Asa realized he had to do the right thing. He took courage and allowed that courage to overcome his hesitation in carrying out the much-needed reforms in the land, which brought revival.

Do you need such unusual courage to move forward? To take the next step? To say whatever word the Lord has put in your mouth. Courage to step out and step up? Whatever the Lord is calling you to will certainly require a dose of unusual courage. As Asa received the courage, he needed to carry out his assignment in Israel, so too do many of us today. We need courage to make those required changes that may sometimes span decades and generations.

Moving forward is sadly not as easy as taking physical steps; it requires much more than that. It involves a spiritual step motivated by the unusual courage found in the Lord. Shiphrah and Puah in Exodus 1 exemplified such courage. These women showed great courage and love for God by risking their lives to disobey Pharaoh’s command. Unusual courage poses risks, but the benefits are astronomical.

Jesus is our model for unusual courage! Knowing all he would go through; he looked up to the Lord for the courage to move forward. The only way we can courageously move forward without fear of stumbling is to focus on the Lord, according to Hebrews 12:2. Without courage, we would never take the step to do the right things and step up to the things needed of us. We must know that without this courage, we may inadvertently allow the wrong things to happen, as seen in Luke 23 with Pilate.

Don’t allow fear to stop you; rather, receive and allow courage to help you move forward to do great things.

PRAYER: Lord, help me recognise that I need courage for change and to face changes, grant me unusual courage to move forward in Jesus’ name, amen.

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