Courage Not Conformity
“Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the Lord.”
Psalm 31: 24.
That is a text worth bronzing and putting on one’s mantel. Take it to the bank, your mental bank, and deposit. It will pay dividends.
Courage is a Christian virtue. In fact, it is impossible to follow and please Christ without it. He has charged His followers, “Be of good courage…” Our English word “courage” comes from the Latin root “cor,” meaning the condition of the heart. King Richard I, by name Richard the Lionhearted, or in French Richard Coeur de Lion, meaning, the king with the heart of a lion.
In the text the Hebrew for courage “tharreo” literally means to be bold. Instead of yielding to impatience or despondency under our troubles, we should turn our thoughts to the goodness of the Lord towards those who fear and trust in Him. Thus, the Lord strengthens our heart enabling us to be of good cheer.
Hope ignites such courage. Our English word “hope” came into being by combining two old Anglo Saxon word meanings: desire plus expectation. If you desire for the Lord to strengthen your heart, and expect Him to do so, He will.
Hope in the Lord cheers, sustains, comforts; makes life happier. It even makes death more calm, serene, and triumphant.
“…the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy.” (Psalm 33: 18)
Personal courage is enshrined as one of the seven core Army values in the modern U.S. Army. The Army defines it simply as “facing fear, danger or adversity (physical or moral).” Courage is no less a Christian virtue. In fact, it is impossible to follow and please Jesus without it.
Through the ages it has been the mantra of legions of our Lord’s loyalists.
One of the church’s first recorded martyrs was a frail slave girl named Blandina. Because she was not a Roman citizen, she was not allowed to be beheaded but was instead subject to torture if she did not renounce her faith in Jesus. The Roman soldiers exhausted themselves trying to get her to deny Jesus. She was made to watch the torture of her fellow Christians and ultimately put in a net and tossed around like a toy by an enraged bull before a cheering crowd. Yet, she did not deny her Lord.
Courage under such extreme circumstances won many gladiators to faith in Jesus. As new converts some of them later faced death in the arena.
Part of being strong and of good courage means trusting in the Lord as our true source of strength.
Believers in Jesus belong to a kingdom not of this world. Our King has not called us to conformity with the world, but to be conquerors of it.
Courage not conformity with the world is our charge in our daily lives.
Conformation vs Transformation
“Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God re-mold your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the Plan of God for you is good, meets all His demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.” Romans 12: 2 (J. B. Phillips Translation)
The world, society that is, seeks our conformation. The Spirit seeks our transformation. We choose which will prevail. The mind is the facility with which we make the decisions.
Conformation results from external influences. Transformation into Jesus’ likeness results from internal influences. Daily external influences bring pressure on us. Unless daily internal spiritual influences are engaged conformation prevails. Only by daily spiritual influences being engaged is transformation possible. That requires daily, not intermittently, Bible reading and prayer seasoned by regular public worship. Gradual practice results in more instinctive spiritual resources, but not ever completely. You have to grow to know God’s will.
This being such a touchy/feely society we tend to ask ourselves “How am I feeling,” and act accordingly. It is not that acting in accordance with our transformed self doesn’t make us feel good, it does, it is that our human instincts are demanding. They are the first responders to most situations.
Internal transformation results in external proof that God’s will is the best course of action and utterance. The good and acceptable and perfect will of God gives joy and spares regret.
The Holy Spirit is the super charger aiding our internal transformation. Rely on the empowering additive.
“Metamorphoo,” the Greek word describing a metamorphosis, is the word translated “transformation.” It is the process involving a grub coming out of a cocoon with a new nature, that of a butterfly. That happens to us initially in Salvation. A positive daily change of mind is a transformation of thought and behavior.
The word is employed only one other time in the Bible to describe the life of a believer.
“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (II Corinthians 3:18)
Consciously employ your spiritual assets daily to avoid conformity and enjoy the victories resulting from transformed thoughts.
You can be assured the happiest days of your life will be when you have tried to do the will of God as far as you know it to be…”
Winnie the Pooh offers this word of caution, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.” We tend to be our own worst enemy, but we can be our own best friend by being transformed daily.
How to Improve Your Memory
May this never happen to you. One evening during a pleasant meal I looked at my wife and sincerely asked, “What are the names of our daughters?” I had no idea. Realizing the sincerity of my inquiry she remained calm and answered. An equally sincere question followed, “Are they married?” Subsequent puzzling questions followed. With equal aplomb, typical of her, she answered each question. Finally, pausing long enough to call one of our sons-in-law who is a doctor and explaining the situation he insisted she get me to the ER at once. She was told to keep asking me questions on the way to the ER. Remarkably my memory returned before we got to the hospital.
I had suffered Transient Global Amnesia (TGA). It is rare and is almost always a one time episode. For that I am thankful. There has been no negative reaction.
Many people seem to suffer from spiritual TGA. They forget their spiritual heritage and responsibility, even if only for a short time. However, time loss is a blessing forfeited.
Don’t be like the person who is a hearer, but not a doer. “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.” (James 1: 23, 24)
Rather be “… one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1: 25)
In order to prevent spiritual TGA program your mind with the word of God. Exercise your mind by memorizing passages of Scripture. The mind is like a muscle. It needs exercise. There is no better exercise than Scripture memorization. Then you are more able to say, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.” (Psalm 119: 11)
“… for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.” (II Peter 1:5 – 9)
Following is a list of suggested passages for memorization. Don’t be intimidated by memorization, you will improve as you do it. Over the next few months patiently and persistently work on these passages. Take your time.
[Psalm 23, Psalm 119:11, Matthew 5:3-10, Philippians 2:5-8, Psalms 8:3-8, Ephesians 6:10-17, Psalm 8:3-6, II Peter 1:5-9]
Tribulation vs. Peace and Good Cheer
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
This truth was included in the middle of Jesus’ farewell discourse to His disciples. Last words are important and to be valued. He spoke of tribulation. The Greek word for tribulation, ”thlipsis” meant to crush, press together, squash, hem in, compress, or squeeze. It expressed sheer, physical pressure on a person. It is a strong term which does not refer to minor inconveniences, but to real hardships.
Hopefully no one reading this will ever experience such extremity. However, our difficulties are a prep school conditioning us in the event we ever might. How are you doing in this school?
If even under tribulation Jesus’ followers are to experience good cheer, how much more should we in our difficulties?
Before and after this pinnacle truth is noted how we might have peace and good cheer.
First, a biblical example of this truth in action. The apostles were called before a religious tribunal and told in polite terms to “shut up” talking about Jesus. When they did not, they were beaten brutally with rods. “And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.” (Acts 5: 41)
Historically it is said a number of gladiators were led to have faith in Jesus when they saw how His followers were willing to die for Him. That was tribulation.
We are to be of good cheer. Cheer meant more than having a jolly good time, it meant to have courage, to be encouraged, be heartened. How?
For faithful believers two things enable this. The disciples experienced both. Both are no less relevant for us.
The first thing enabling cheer is the words he spoke. They heard Him articulate them. We have them in written form. To have them and not know them is a travesty. To know them and not practice them is worse. To know them and apply them is to have peace and be of good cheer.
One further reflection comparing true tribulation with “our light affliction” and our responses, how are you doing in our current elementary school?
An illustrative comparison of confronting tribulation and our difficulties is found in Jeremiah 12:5. Therein God says to the prophet, “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in a safe country, how will you manage in the thickets….”
Practice now by showing presently you have peace and good cheer.
Gird Up, Sober Up, Look Up
“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ….” I Peter 1: 13
Few generations have faced the world offering them little hope. Every breeze from the Orient brings with it the smell of Chinese explosives as a threat to war, environmental pollution, wock’s threat that divides, drugs, crime, corruption, and COVID threatening death pull tomorrow’s clouds over today’s sunshine. Little wonder live as though there is no tomorrow. “Seize the moment” is the mantra of the rising generation that lives as though there is no tomorrow.
The older generations are faced with a culture that affords them no fewer woes.
Followers of Jesus in every generation can attest to the truth of Jesus who promised that in this world there would be tribulation. The Bible Book of I Peter deserves a reread. It was initially written to people to whom hope did not come easy. It might be called a Book of Hope. For us as for the initial audience, hope gives the Christian encouragement in the midst of the trials and tribulations of this life because it focuses our affection on the blessings of the source of all hope, Jesus.
The verse focused in the above text offers three pillars of hope.
First, “…gird up the loins of your mind….” All three expressions are symbolic expressions. When a warrior in the biblical era was about to go into battle he would tuck his robe into his belt enabling him to act more adeptly. This expression used here means to get mentally prepared. Many people falter and fail to deal adroitly with issues. They have no mental reservoir from which to draw waters of wisdom. They simply don’t know what to do and they fall apart. They have failed to do as instructed to “Study to show yourself approved unto God….” If that is indicative of you, change it today and set up a plan of Bible study. Enroll in spiritual boot camp and start training. You will have tribulation, count on it. Get to know God better and learn His standards.
Second, “…be sober….” This isn’t related to drunkenness or other drugs only. When not sober the mind is under an external influence, alcohol. Is your mind clouded by any external influence? Are you inclined to give allegiance to any philosophy contrary to the Scripture? If so, sober up, that is come out from beneath any alien influence.
Third, “rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ….” If you have come to understand who Jesus is you know He offers hope. For it to be yours you must not only know it, but believe it. Believing in His grace, His unmerited favor, gives hope. Live on the basis of faith/rest. Then you can say if not sing, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness….” Gird up, sober up, and look up in hope even in our hopeless society.