When I think of the word courage, for some reason my mind immediately goes to the image of the lion tamer putting his head into the mouth of the circus lion. Courage as impressive bravery in the face of fear. The kind of courage it takes to do big things, like parachute out of an airplane, or rescue a child from a burning building.
But then, speaking of lions, I also think of the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz. I must confess that most of the time I feel more like the Cowardly Lion than the lion tamer.
Courage is not only needed for the big things. It takes courage to do little things as well, because sometimes little things loom large and intimidate us with fear. Like a young man asking a girl out on a date. Or the glance in the rear view mirror of flashing blue lights gaining on you.
And then there are the large, menacing trials of life that seem to consume us and tap our reserves of joy and peace until we are as dry as a bone. The death of a loved one. That cancer diagnosis. The boss from hell. Lingering financial issues.
The word that all these situations have in common is, wait for it… FEAR.
There’s a meme floating around the Interwebs that basically says: The Bible says “fear not” 365 times, one for each day of the year, so that we’ll be reminded every day to face the day with courage.
There’s only one problem with that nice, greeting-card thought. It’s not really true. I don’t know the exact amount of times the phrase is in the King James Version—maybe about 70. But the fact is the Bible does address fear and it does give us hope.
My goal in my study has been to walk through the Bible examining what it says to me about courage and “fearing not.”
The word “courage” itself originates from the Middle English word corage. Cor in Latin and cuer in Old French means “heart.” The word originally meant the heart as the source of emotions.
Today courage means:
- the ability to do something that frightens one
- the ability to do something that you know is difficult or dangerous
- strength in the face of pain or grief
- the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear
- bravery
- mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty
I’ve learned something about fear as I’ve studied courage. You don’t somehow make the fear go away, and then act in courage. Courage is confronting your fears; it’s the strength to press on in the face of fear.
Michael Hyatt says, “Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is the willingness to act in spite of my fear.”
Or as Franklin Roosevelt said, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.”
What do you think of when you think of the word “courage”?