July 21 Courage Comes from Within Psalm 31:24
Good morning from Pastor Glen Brock, Baptist Tabernacle Church, Wendell, North Carolina… “Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.” (Psalm 31:24)
My mother used to read a story to me, from an old Indian folklore book, and one of those stories dealt with courage. When we were at the lake, last week, every morning, just about daybreak, I observed the birds and the way that they dealt with the bigger birds that were attempting to get their piece of bread that was provided by the big round thing that was in the swing (that was me). This big bird came in, all big and bad, and the smaller birds scrambled, except for one smaller bird. This bird was “in the face” of the big bird and he would chase the larger bird away. Amazingly, the other smaller birds would return to eating the bread. As I witnessed this interaction, I recalled that story, from long ago, that spoke of courage and where to find courage. The story went like this: “There was a mouse that was afraid of cats, so the magician agreed to turn the mouse into a cat. The fear of cats disappeared. Well, the newly transformed cat met a dog, and the fear was back, so the magician turned the cat into a dog. Are you keeping up? Alright, the mouse turned cat turned dog was happy until he met a tiger, and, once again, the magician turned him into the thing that he feared, a tiger. Well, the tiger came to the magician and was complaining that he had met a hunter! Shock of all shocks…the magician would not help! He told the tiger that he would change him back into a mouse, just because you have the body of a tiger, you still have the heart of a mouse.” Listen, we can build up a gruff and imposing exterior and still tremble with fear on the inside! Courage is an outgrowth of who we are and who we serve. We can face our fears with force, and we can construct mighty exteriors, and we can hoard wealth and can seek fame and fortune, but do these things work to bring us courage? Exterior supports are temporary, but only our inward character and relationship creates courage! “Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.” (Psalm 31:24) Stay Strong, Stay Focused…THE BEST IS YET TO BE!