Be of Good Courage

 God drew my attention to the verse we are going to consider today when we first found out that Chris had pancreatic cancer. I wrote it on a card and placed it in a prominent place in our bathroom where she and I would see it every day. I believe Chris was able to obey this verse, even though she did not like pain and discomfort at all. She decided to be of good courage and do what needed to be done to fight the enemy, which was the cancer. She did well.

David was inspired to reveal to us the truths in this verse. We all need to obey them every day, no matter what is happening to us. (Psalm 31:24) We must decide to be of good courage that is God's command to us, as believers. Then, He will strengthen the hearts of all those who hope in the Lord. I believe it is easy to see the progression here.

First, we have to be brave, to be of good courage. This means we have to face our enemies and our problems, not run from them. We have to do our part to show the Lord that we trust Him to be with us and see us through the things that are not pleasant, even painful. When we stand up to the challenges of life, God will give us the strength to make our hearts strong.

We might not think we have what it takes to fight the battles, but we have our hope in the Lord. We believe that He will be with us as we put our hope in Him because He loves us, and He wants to make us stronger in our faith. However, the first step is ours. God will not strengthen us, unless we decide to be of good courage. I pray we will all learn this lesson and have our hearts strengthened by the Lord for whatever comes.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalms 32-34.