Courageous Faith – Episode 186
Courageous faith by its very definition makes us believe that we can do it! It is believing without seeing. Yet, many times we as Christians struggle with pride, we don’t need God and we can do it alone. Until we can’t. Resisting pride is an uphill battle without the Lord, and in today’s podcast, we will delve into the topic of faith in the face of our struggles.
Thanks to our sponsor the re-release of the movie Courageous – it is the 10th anniversary of the original airing of the movie and this is Courageous the Legacy with a revised ending. If you missed the movie the first time, do not miss it again. It is a true story of heroic service and faith told in an inspiring story of true heroes of our time. This movie has helped millions of people and it is timely that it is released now when our current culture shuns true heroes in the face of false narratives. Be sure to check out the movie in our show notes link.
What is courage? It is stepping out of your comfort zone and sometimes into the fire but what about courage that is challenged when your faith is not as strong as it should be? Everyone goes through hardships in our lives. Let’s look at a thumbnail sketch of how hardships can affect us.
Hardships can be:
- Unavoidable, for example, an illness or an accident
- Avoidable – something that we caused.
- External – something that happens to us deliberately from someone we trust or love.
These are the hardships we deal with in different ways and the stress and anguish that comes from our struggles is really what makes us who we are, the trial by fire. Isaiah 48:10 See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. We often point to the Old Testament where Isaiah is found and say it is no longer applicable because now we have the New Testament the fulfillment of prophecy. Yet, the Old Testament is our heritage and God knows everything that happens in our lives, and like it or not there is a purpose for this, if we have eyes that can see the topic of a podcast a few weeks ago here.
It is when we are filled with pride that we can not get beyond ourselves to where we need to be. Pride is one of those sins that rears its ugly head when we least expect it – it is a great sin and it is the opposite of humility. It is because of pride that our first parents sinned – it is because of pride that great men fall and take down entire kingdoms with them, and it is because of pride that the devil gets into the midst and causes havoc.
Pride is thinking that only we are important, what we think, feel, and want – and we bring everything right back to us. It is all about me. Well, no it is not – and those who have faith realize that pride is not good it is evil. No one is perfect and we all have to combat things in our lives that are vices and that bring us down. Pride can cause us to doubt God and His providence for us. Especially when bad things happen to good people.
Some years ago a friend of mine went to a medical check-up thinking that all was well. She was a physician and the attending physician was a friend of hers. When the lab work came back the doctor’s office called and she made an appointment thinking, my friend is going to tell me how great I’m doing physically. What she heard was the opposite. She had an aggressive form of cancer. Can you imagine your good friend and doctor telling you – another doctor who understands what this means that she has cancer? I’m sure there were many tears in that room.
My friend had amazing faith. I knew her when our kids were little. She was our pediatrician for a short time until she switched to her specialty which was as a pediatric allergist. By some God-incidence, I had to take one of my children to the office where I didn’t even know she worked, and there she was! Do you have that in your life? People God puts in your path and even if you do not see them for years you go right back in time and pick up where you left off? Well, this lady is special.
She spent many years combatting cancer, she had physical trials, chemotherapy, and aggressive drug treatments, yet she had unwavering faith. Courageous faith! Imagine my surprise when I received an invitation from her and her husband (also a doctor) who threw a large party with all of her friends. I was blessed to attend. This was a celebrate life party. That shows real faith in the glory of God. I was thinking about this friend while doing the episode of the Glory of God a few weeks ago, because she would see God in so many things.
She told me once that as she was looking outside one day she saw a magnificent rainbow and the thought came that God was showing off of her – he did this for her because he knew she would appreciate it – unwavering faith – seeing God in the beauty of the creation. She showed us her friends what it meant to have faith, courageous faith in the midst of adversity. I’m happy to report that through a series of miraculous events she is today cancer-free.
How many people lay their lives down for their faith, for their belief that there is something greater than them and this world is a blip on the radar of life. How many of us can claim the same? We are blessed no matter where you live or what surrounds you to have the hope that God reigns. And if we open our hearts that He will reign there as well. Our success is not with what we have in the bank or what we wear or drive, our success is what we feel when we think of Christ who died to set us free.
The ultimate courageous faith was Jesus Christ himself who gave us His life so that we could live. And, the question is friends how are you living this life? I hear the slogan living your best life – that is so narcissistic… we should be living and giving our lives over to Him.
Romans 4: 20 – Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God…
Psalms 16: 5: Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.
Today people are living in fear, they are afraid to die. News flash – no one dies until it is your time and this is not from me but from the Almighty God. It is a time to turn away from the television, the computer, and the news and to turn into your Bibles and to fill your soul with the knowledge that God is in control, no one else.
Let’s pray:
Dear Father, you are the one who offered the ultimate sacrifice for us – and for your life, death, and resurrection I am forever grateful. Please, Father, give us the gift, the grace, and the hope of courageous faith in the face of struggles and hardships in our lives. Let us know that we know beyond a doubt that you are here in our lives. I ask you Father for the following needs in my life and those for who I pray… and I pray this in your precious name, Almighty God and Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Amen.
A Special Thank You to Our Network Sponsor: Courageous Movie
From the Kendrick Brothers, creators of the No. 1 box-office movie WAR ROOM and OVERCOMER, comes the remastered re-release of COURAGEOUS Legacy, in theaters September 24. Celebrating 10 years of impact on families and fathers, this updated version of the film includes new scenes and an enhanced look and sound.
Filled with action-packed drama, COURAGEOUS Legacy will once again have viewers laughing, crying, and cheering as they are challenged and inspired by everyday heroes who long to be the kinds of dads that make a lifelong impact on their children. Protecting the streets is second nature to these men. Raising their children in a God-honoring way? That’s courageous.
Check out the trailer here!
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