Lately I’ve been thinking about courage. I am inspired by the thousands of young firefighters on the front lines of epic fires in the West and their courage in the face of extreme danger. As a friend commented: “What is it that makes a person stand in front of a raging inferno of burning trees, violent wind and intense heat and decide to jump into the maelstrom?” It’s a good question. It raises another more personal, more troubling question: “Would I be able to jump into harm’s way for the sake of another? Am I capable of courage? And then a deeper question nags. Am I at all brave for anything dangerous, anything threatening my own very safe, very comfortable life?

Courage is defined simply as “being able to do something that frightens one” or as John Wayne put it, “Courage is being scared to death…and saddling up anyway.” A richer definition in Webster says courage is “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.” It is more than an impulsive physical response for it actively involves the will and the mind within a moral core. Courage is both a selfless response to another’s peril and the measure of our response to private fears and calamities. C.S.Lewis adds that “Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.” Courage will define whether the faith, hope and love we profess are alive in us or merely nice concepts we display like a string of paste diamonds.

Our English word courage comes from the Latin root cor and the French coeur, meaning heart or inner feelings. Heart and courage can be synonymous. We tell a troubled friend, ”Take heart” or “ Don’t lose heart.” We’re speaking words right out of the Old Testament Bible which connects courage and the heart, especially in the Psalms.
Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD. Psalm 31:24
I would have lost heart, unless I had believed…Psalm 27:13
Wait on the Lord.: Be of good courage and He will strengthen your heart. Psalm 27:14

I’m not a particularly brave woman. A snake in the garden can still keep me inside the house until Dan goes after it. The evening news of rising persecutions, riots, and random violence makes me question whether I have courage to withstand evil. Nightmares spike my heart rate to jump rope levels. I’ve been asking God for courage because the testing of my moral courage may still lie in the future. With that comes the risk of my prayer being heard. If I pray for courage, for sure I’ll get an opportunity to face a fearful unknown. Jesus says to take heart even in the testing.

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”John 16:33

By trusting, hoping and waiting on Him, on His Word and most of all on His heart, courage will reside in my heart to rise forth like wings of an eagle.