Take Courage!

This past weekend, the women of Highpoint Church were able to gather for Getaway 2015. While not every Highpoint woman was able to attend, I’m pretty certain every woman – Highpointer or not – needs more of what we discussed this weekend: courage. The reasons are probably very different for each of us. Maybe you need courage to overcome a lie from your past. Perhaps you need courage to face a crisis that’s recently occurred. Some of us need courage to persevere in a difficult journey that won’t be over any time soon.As I prepared for the message, I had a burning desire to give each woman I know a little bag of courage. So many of us get stuck in a bad place and we look around, wanting God to give us a portion of the good stuff. I imagine it arriving in a little silver bag… kind of like a favor you might receive at a wedding reception. Isn’t that just what we need?What I was reminded of from 2 Chronicles 15:1-15 was that we don’t have to wait for the FedEx man to bring the bag of courage. King Asa had been a God-fearing king up to this point in his leadership. He had experienced God’s favor and protection. However, when a prophet came and challenged the successful king to remain faithful to God, Asa immediately acknowledged there were things within him and his people that were displeasing to the Lord. Without hesitation, Asa took care of business and left us a picture we cannot ignore. In my next few blogs, I’ll describe how we should take courage. Today, however, you first need to first grasp why we can take courage.Asa lived before Jesus’ birth. In this time period, the presence of God had not yet been given to all followers. But King Asa had the favor of the Lord; God was with him. When Azariah the prophet challenged Asa (“But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded."), Asa didn’t hesitate, nor did he look to the sky for a bag of courage to fall in his lap. Instead, scripture tells us as soon as Asa heard these words, he took courage. Asa wasn’t a superhero. He was able to be courageous because he had God’s presence with him.We have the distinction of living after Jesus walked this earth. He told the disciples that He would send a helper when He left. Every child of God has this helper, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God’s presence living within us. Do you know what the number one characteristic of the Holy Spirit is? Boldness. Do you know what boldness is? Courage. If you have a relationship with the Lord, then you have all the courage you could ever need living inside of you.Next week, I’ll be showing you some very specific ways to exercise the courage God has placed inside of you. But how incredible is it to know that God already gave us everything we need to walk this life on earth! You have the courage you need. It’s not yours, it’s the Lord’s. But it’s living in you and just waiting for you to take it and use it. twitter | facebook