John 16:33 “In this world you will have troubles; but take heart, I have overcome the world.”
Are you feeling courageous today? Winston Churchill said: “Success is never final; failure is never fatal. It is courage that counts.”
In Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’, Atticus says: “I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.”
The difference with Jesus is that he warns his disciples of troubles ahead, but assures them of victory despite them, so long as they persevere. His disciples certainly appeared to have been ‘licked’ after his crucifixion, but with the Holy Spirit’s empowering at Pentecost, they were equipped to face up to any trial sent their way. One young lady defined courage as “knowing the worst – and discovering that, in God’s world, the very worst can’t really hurt you.”
Henri Nouwen takes us deeper into the meaning of the word: “‘Have courage’ we often say to one another. Courage is a spiritual virtue. The word courage comes from the Latin word ‘cor’, which means ‘heart’. A courageous act is an act coming from the heart. A courageous word is a word arising from the heart. The heart, however, is not just the place where our emotions are located. The heart is the centre of all thoughts, feelings, passions and decisions. A courageous life, therefore, is a life lived from the centre. It is a deeply-rooted life, the opposite of a superficial life. ‘Have courage’, therefore means: ‘Let your centre speak’.”
Lord, I choose to take heart today, to live a courageous life. I praise you that you have overcome the world. Thank you that we likewise can be more than conquerors through you. Amen!
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