Column by Pastor Joey Durham: Jesus will give you the courage you need
Our devotion today is "Comforting Courage," and my text is Isaiah 41:10, where we see, "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." (KJV)
The fifth promise from God that will comfort the Christian is found in these words, "I will strengthen thee." Now, what is the Lord promising when He tells us, "I will strengthen thee?" I believe He is promising to give us courage in the midst of discouraging circumstances. Courage to honor God is becoming a rare quality today. Courage is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger or uncertainty with strength that only God can give. Courage says, "I don't know what dangers are around the corner," and then goes around the corner anyway! You might ask if I can give you a Bible example of courage in the midst of dangerous and discouraging circumstances? I'm glad you asked!
I think about the three Hebrew captives in Babylon by the names of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They were trusting the Almighty God, and they simply refused to bow to the idol of gold that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. They were ordered by the Babylonian government to submit to their wishes and demands, and aren't we seeing a lot of that today, or be thrown into the midst of a burning fiery furnace that exceeded 16,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Instead, we find these words in Daniel 3:16-18. "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, 'O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.'" (KJV) I'm sure there are people today that would say, "Don't be foolish! Just bow and live to take a stand another day!" That takes no courage when it comes to honoring the God of Heaven. They knew God could deliver them, and if He chose differently, then they'd just meet God face to face in a much better place. God honored their courage to stand for Him in a difficult time, and God showed up in the middle of that furnace to encourage them. I can only imagine what a comfort that must have been to these three courageous men.
Christian, keep your eyes fixed firmly on Jesus and He will comfort your heart by giving you the courage you need for what you're facing in your life.
Dr. Joey Durham is pastor at Open Bible Baptist Church at 180 Old Manning Road in Sumter. You can contact Pastor Durham at durham.joey@yahoo.com or call the church office at (803) 481-9315.