As a young boy I remember watching the Wizard of Oz.  While the Scarecrow was my favourite character, I remember being impacted by the lesson in courage that was delivered through the Cowardly Lion.  Courage, as the Lion came to learn, does not mean one has no fear.  Rather, courage is acting even though one is afraid.

Courage is when you make a choice, take a decision in the face of uncertainty.  Courage doesn’t necessarily guarantee an outcome, but it does help the process of obedience. Courage helps you face a fear and act anyway.  It helps you take a risk.

I remember the first time I prayed for the physical healing of someone outside a church environment.  I was beyond nervous; I was actually afraid.  My body went through the physical sensations of fear: shaking knees, dry mouth, stuttered speech, quivering voice … it was pathetic!!  But, what kept me going in that moment was the fact that I had heard Holy Spirit speak.

The man was limping and wincing in obvious pain.  As if from behind me, in my ear I heard/sensed “Pray for him”.  So, knowing I’d heard Holy Spirit speak, I pushed through the symptoms of fear and prayed for his knee.  God did something absolutely amazing. (see post , this will take you to another blog site).

I’ve often thought back to that situation and wondered how I may have handled things had I not heard Holy Spirit speak so clearly.  I was in the early stages of learning how to hear God’s voice.  I had never met the man before.  Our meeting was part of my job and we were in a warehouse.  There was no prayer line; no worship band; no atmosphere of expectation.  But I knew I had heard God speak.  He didn’t give specifics.  He didn’t promise any results.  He just said, “Pray for him”.

The clarity of having heard from God gave me the confidence to act.  But when the symptoms of fear started taking over I began to question if I really wanted to take the risk.  But I steeled myself, tried to control the violent shaking inside me while I squeaked out an offer to pray for his knee.  When the man looked at me as if I was some kind of alien – I had to rely on more than confidence, I had to find some courage.

I’m learning that courage is usually required because acting in faith almost always involves RISK.  Courage doesn’t mean we have less faith, it demonstrates we’re willing to act on the faith we have.  I sometimes wish we could live from a place of peaceful confidence where risk isn’t scary and courage isn’t necessary – but, that’s not the way things work.  What would Jesus have said to that idea after resolving that the cup of the cross would not pass by him?  What would the Apostle Paul have said to that as he lay prostrate for days while the flesh on his back healed from the whippings?  And the nameless faithful, described in Hebrews 11 who didn’t see what they hoped for; what would they say to that idea?

Faith requires action.  Action involves risk.

Clarity provides the confidence for action.  Courage helps us take the risk.