Courage Comes From the Living God

My Step with God
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Hi friends,

Today’s Scripture Readings:

  • Psalm 150 - A call for universal praise to the Lord
  • 1 Samuel 17:19-32 - David’s arrival at the battlefield and declaration to fight Goliath
  • Acts 5:17-26 - The apostles freed from prison to continue teaching in the temple

My Reflection: Courage Comes From the Living God

After my first year of campus ministry, I was invited to participate in a missions trip to Tajikistan.

Tajiki…where? Once I located the country, I realized it shared a border with Afghanistan, had just finished a civil war about seven years ago, and had ongoing unrest from the conflicts between the Russian-backed government and an Islamist opposition faction.

So, of course, I signed up for the trip, and recruited university students to go with me. I’m sure my parents were thrilled that their son, filled with wide-eyed fanaticism for Jesus, planned to spend a summer in a volatile Central Asian country.

But here’s the weird thing: I wasn’t afraid. At all. I had a fundamental confidence in God that overrode any of the normal fear you might expect in a situation like this. (Also, I trusted that InterVarsity had a good plan, the capital city would be relatively safe, and so on).

As I read today’s passages, it reminded me of my summer in Dushanbe. We start with Psalm 150. Wholehearted, enthusiastic, total praise of God.

It’s an ideal I aspire to, but it doesn’t describe my everyday life. I can put on the most intense gospel music, Christian rap, or even dig into some hard-hitting Christian ska, and still feel relatively numb to the Lord.

But when my heart is open to God, and I am living a life of praise? That’s when fear subsides, and I gain the courage to live for him.

The second passage is from 1 Samuel 17:19-32.

It’s almost a hilarious contrast. King Saul, with his top-of-the-line armor, cowering in fear with his trained army, as a single giant, Goliath the Philistine, yells at them.

Saul is reduced to offering bribes to anyone—anyone—who will take on this champion.

Meanwhile, David is the Instacart driver, doing a meal delivery run for his brothers. Who has the courage to challenge Goliath?

All the externals are irrelevant. The difference is that David knows, relationally, the living God. As he puts it, "For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

Sometimes “God” can be a concept in a philosophical argument. But for David, it’s the living God who gives him courage. He’s a flawed man, and his faith will wax and wane. But his example points us to Jesus, the true Champion of God who confronts and overcomes our greatest enemies: sin, death, and alienation from God.

The same living God is at work when the apostles are imprisoned (Acts 5:17-26). The high priest is infuriated by their preaching! They’d killed Jesus, what else would they have to do to end this movement?

So when God sends an angel to miraculously free them? He sends them straight into battle: go back to the temple and “tell the people the whole message about this life (with Jesus).”

Normal people would not go out into battle against Goliath—or preach the gospel in the temple after the high priest threw them into jail.

But as we remember Easter, we have to keep our focus on the LIFE that our Resurrected Savior provides to us. When we know that God defeats the grave, then we gain the courage to go anywhere, and do anything, to serve him.

David famously went out by himself. The apostles preached side-by-side.

But both of them were animated by knowing their identities were confirmed as God’s servant, their hearts were energized by God’s life, and their purpose was clear: to glorify God.

Do you ever need courage to face the problems in your life? I feel that every day.

These readings suggest that Biblical courage starts with knowing and praising God. It’s when he’s everything to us, and our hearts are filled with worship, that we can move forward in faith to serve his purposes.

I know we’re not the heroes. Jesus is the only one who has demonstrated perfect worship, perfect spiritual life, and perfect obedience.

Me? Well, not quite.

But we don’t have to make this into a strict binary, because we are united to Jesus. We are filled with his supernatural life! We can be like David and the apostles! Not because we’re amazing, but because God has captured our hearts.

Next Steps:

  1. Discern: Where do you feel anxious or afraid? In those moments, how could you remind yourself that God’s Spirit lives within you?

  2. Act: Read Psalm 150. If you can, find a place where you can shout it out! Make some noise! Ask God to fill your heart with exuberant worship!

  3. Connect: Reach out to a friend and ask for their support. We don’t have to face our struggles alone.

The living God gives me courage.

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