S77P3 – The courage of the saints: contagious
2 Sam. 10:9-12
When Joab saw that the battle was set against him both in front and in the rear, he chose some of the best men of Israel and arrayed them against the Syrians. The rest of his men he put in the charge of Abishai his brother, and he arrayed them against the Ammonites. And he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me, but if the Ammonites are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the Lord do what seems good to him.”
Whether at work, at church or at home, we often are in need of someone to stand up and rally the troops. If we are so blessed, we get to be that person. In high school, we had a group of students called the superfans. No matter what the score was, and no matter how much better the opposing team performed, the superfans always acted like the win was certain to be ours. When our bleachers were silent from dejection, the superfans would warm the crowd back up. If the team could not believe in the win, they could get encouragement from that group of unwavering support. What the superfans offered was a belief that was contagious and necessary.
Sometimes our saintly courage has less to do with us and more to do with our brothers and sisters. We can say that God has us in place to be contagiously courageous. There are those in the Church who will lose hope and teeter on the brink of losing faith from time to time, and they need others who will impart their courage to them. This world is a tough place, and the work to which we have been called is no walk in the park, but there also is no shortage of godly courage on which we can rely. There will be times when God does not impart this to us directly but through others who can be the example of courage we should follow. They help us be brave by letting us tag along with their bravery.
It is easy to see courage as an internal dealing, something that we must develop alone with and through God. However, we cannot forget that He has placed the Church body here to perform as a unit. This mustering up of our good courage often is a group effort, and we see that time and again in the scriptures. When we feel like we simply cannot be brave, perhaps we only need look to others who are walking in bravery and who can help us along. And when we are walking in courage, let us look for those who need the favor returned. Father, give us the desire not only to be courageous saints but also to encourage other saints in their quest for godly courage.