In scripture, courage is also referred to as “good cheer” which means boldness and confidence.Throughout the Bible, God commands us to fear not, to be of good cheer, and to have courage in our life. Sometimes we doubt our own strength and conviction but can turn to scripture for the encouragement to live in good cheer and trust in God. May these Bible verses about courage inspire you to be steadfast in faith and to only fear the Lord.
Joshua 1:9 says: “Be strong and of good courage”. As you turn to Jesus Christ in faith and follow His counsel to be strong and of a good courage, you will feel the assurance that He is always with you. Our victory is grounded in God’s Word.
Psalm 27:1 says: “The Lord is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?” This is a psalm of confidence and courage. It starts with the question: “whom shall I fear?” It ends with: “Let your heart take courage”. The good news of the gospel is that we have an anchor for our souls. We can be calm and confident, courageous and brave. How? This is because God gives us Himself and if we have Him, we have no need to fear. David penned this Psalm to teach readers that when God is your everything you can face anything. Courage is the ability to do something that frightens you. It is strength in the face of pain or grief. We should know that it is faith that equips us with certainty.
Therefore, we ought to be confident in Christ and courageous in our living.
Faith empowers our prayers. In exercise of our faith we should make requests boldly and rely on Christ’s power entirely. Faith endows us with knowledge which leads to increase in understanding of Christ and our valuing Him supremely. Thus, if confidence enhances our faith and sense of efficacy in Christ, our enhanced self-efficacy is about having the strong, positive belief that the Holy Spirit gives us the capacity and the skills to achieve our goals.
Our confidence is based on knowing that we have a well-defined purpose. Let us always know that God did not redeem us to leave us wandering aimlessly in life with no purpose. In fact, He gave each and every one of us a glorious and eternal purpose that is far bigger than anything this world might offer. Rather than expending our identity on earthly treasures and measures that are passing away, we should focus more on our identity in Christ and live out His life so that the world might see Him in us. We should know that the Lord is our helper and advocate.
God did not redeem us to leave us with insufficient means to carry out our new purpose. He promises us that the Holy Spirit who lives within us will help us know the truth so that we can walk in obedience as a result (John 14:16-17). May God shower us with the grace of obedience to His Word. May the Holy Spirit intercedes for us according to the will of God (Romans 8:27). May we never lose the capacity to overcome temptations (1 Corinthians 10:13). May we walk in victory as we share the gospel (2 Corinthians 2:14) knowing that no single follower of Christ is excluded from these promises. Therefore, let us claim them and live by them.
To remain confident, we must renew our minds with what we know to be true. We should meditate on God’s word day and night (Psalm 1:2) evidently knowing that the frequency of meditation on God’s Word indicates a mind that requires constant renewal. May you be refreshed and renewed.
