It’s acoustic jazz night, it being the fourth Friday of the month. Sit back, relax, let the smoky mood and soft rhythm settle into your ears. ?Can you see the vision as it’s cast in your mind? Trust God to open the eyes of your heart and soul to see what He sees. Just…..let His vision in you play.
Turn off the main highway at Old Field Road and go all the way to the end. I’m Social Porter and this is Outposts, a semi-live broadcast from the late evening, cascading banks of the Okluhwahhah River, where the trees gently lean over the rivers edge, and every evening is pleasant. And yes, the Okluhwahhah is a real place in a real town, no kidding.
So glad you are here this evening, we always enjoy spending some time with you in contemplative conversation. Speaking of contemplating, i’m still learning to sip life, taking time to taste, rather than gulp and swill. A few years ago i watched my son eat a hamburger…he totally inhaled it in about 4 bites, it was astounding. i don’t think he actually tasted it much. Internally, i asked the Lord where my son learned to eat that way, i heard Him say, “From you.” Oh. From that point on i determined i’d take the time to sip and taste life rather than gulp and swill.
Are we strong and courageous? How did we get that way? Were we born like that, or is real strength and courage as God has granted grace to men?
Let’s let the music play a moment, coffee refills are free after 7 here at Outposts, so as we say, tap your toe, dream a little, and i’ll be back in a moment.
Alright, moving along. i’m going to use a previous conversation between a boy and his father which goes like this: A little boy said to his dad: “Dad, how am I going to be brave if I’m always afraid?” The father replied: “Son, it’s the only time you can be brave.” Is it possible to really know the value of a good thing unless you’ve had something which totally didn’t work? i may say “i’ve got the best hammer in the world.” But my wise friend might ask me, “How can you tell? Have you ever had a bad hammer?” If i’ve only had one hammer and never used any other nail driving device, truthfully, i have no concept of the contrast of good and not good.
i find God to be the Lord of contrasts. i believe it’s true, He’s constantly speaking in many ways, but among all that He’s always speaking to us in contrasts, like day and night, good and evil, hope and despair, honesty and dishonesty, plus and minus, up and down. And this evening it is the contrast of strength and courage vs. weak and afraid. i have held off speaking of the concept and value of being strong and courageous because i’ve realized that i can’t effectively know how to talk about “being strong and courageous” unless i understand the contrast of “being weak and fearful”. To be honest, i’ve realized the idea of “weak and fearful” has been far more prevalent in my life than “strong and courageous”. The Hebrew perspective of the word “weak” is one of wings too limp to catch enough air to lift off or the inability of a mist to move even the simplest things. And i’ll just say this about fear: Faith and fear are complete opposites, they cannot reign in the same heart. While fear cowers, faith stands. While fear frets, faith prays. While fear looks within, faith looks to Jesus. Fear despairs, faith hopes.
In 2 Corinthians 12:9 Paul says: “…And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” That word “weakness” means literally, without strength. In other words, God’s amazing favor and His dynamic explosive power are made perfect in the midst of our native feebleness and moral frailty.
Ambrose Redmoon said, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.” And Winston Churchill adds to that “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”
Are you a courageous person? i think most of us have probably spent a lot of our lives being scared rather than courageous, and we’ve fixated on the outcome and opinions of others rather than sticking to our faith.
Courage seems elusive sometimes, especially with people who need to find courage to just leave the house or go to the grocery store. i say if God asks you to step out and you’re afraid, do it afraid, that is courage under fire. We all do things which require courage on a daily basis, and what is a conscious effort to be brave to some is merely second nature to others. i have been told i am very brave, but if the truth be known, at the time, i was more clueless as to the consequences of my actions, so it wasn’t conscious bravery, but more sheer ignorance which caused my appearance of courage. One time a buddy and i were throwing rocks at a hornets nest that was big as a watermelon. Another fellow nearby said we were brave. That wasn’t brave, that was colossal ignorance as to the potential consequences. Stupidity can masquerade as bravery, but the truth is, it’s just stupidity.
Ignorance and stupidity aside, sometimes it takes the third – or fourth – or fifth – or hundredth time of practicing courage before the intensity of fear dissipates, the idea is to persist until we overcome. Now there are two good words for the week, “persist and overcome”. The deep breath which precedes a jump into the ocean is the same as that which precedes a step into an unknown situation or a different space. How do we find that courage and strength we so desperately need? Most times courage isn’t shouting, being loud and defiant, but is seen in just saying at the end of the day, “I’ll try again tomorrow.” One of the greatest afflictions upon the Body of Christ today, is a loss of courage and being overwhelmed in our own systemic lack of strength.
Psalm 18:2 “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”
Oh, and i know well how easy it is to say “Just trust in God”, and it often irritates me when some well meaning person says, “If you’d just…” then they tell you a scripture to quote to yourself. “If you’d just…” is easy to advise others of, but when it’s only you looking in the frightened eyes of yourself in the mirror, “If you’d just…” doesn’t hold much water. We don’t find courage and strength by turning scripture into a mantra, but we do find courage and strength when we grip to Christ in faith. And for some, maybe even that seems sort of lame to say, but it is the truth. Somewhere there, we must find courage and strength to persist and overcome even if all circumstances say we should just quit as many others have done. The courage and strength we are looking for is in Christ and Christ alone, really and for reals.
i have searched high and low for another source of strength and courage and there is none other than Christ. i’ve tried to have strength and courage in and of myself, and that was worse than a dead end road for it was no road at all, it was just a big “no where”.
Admitting to God that we are weak and fearful is a good thing. James 5:16 “Make this your common practice: Confess your faults to each other and pray for each other that you may be healed.”
The sincere prayer of confession by anyone who is living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Courage is a thing of intention and leadership. It is like powerful waves washing upon the shore over and over, and is intrinsic of God who is the faithful one, and because He has courage, we have courage. In our leading a life of being strong there is exemplified grace of the crowned believer who carries the sword of the spirit, and in our transforming practice of strength comes a constant invitation for more transformation. Like saying the more i practice my strength in Christ, the more i am strong in the power of the Holy Spirit. The more we are courageous, the more we are courageous, and the more we are strong, the more we are strong. To those who have will be given, and those who have not will be taken away. On a side note…i believe honesty and transparency is systemic to courage and strength. .
i must say though, it seems that admitting our faults, in the eyes of some people, appears to them as weakness, and it inspires their hyper-religiousness to kick in, motivating them to counseling rather than relating. To many, admitting to ANY difficulty or fault just looks like weakness, when really, it is strong and courageous to be honest and real, while employing tact and diplomacy. E.E. Cummings said, “It takes courage to grow up and be who you really are.”
Many people feel that to admit there are times when they are weak and fearful gives other people power over them. But regardless of the possible down side of admitting i am sometimes weak and fearful, in my confession, i am strong in Christ. Here’s another personal admission, in hopes others will relate rather than put on their religious suit of counsel: i’ll be honest – i don’t have what it takes. i don’t have it and that’s the truth. But Jesus does, and He lives in my heart, and in Christ i am strong and courageous, AND i am prosperous and highly favored! Not merely surviving, but prosperous and that so doesn’t mean having money and stuff either.
Personally, i’d like to NOT be SO acquainted with “weak and fearful”, but the facts are, there are times when I AM…. 2 Corinthians 12:10, “….. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” And Hebrews 11:34, “….out of weakness they were made strong, became valiant in battle, and turned to flight the armies of the aliens.” Coming to resolve about what exactly God is talking about in those scriptures has very little to do with lifting weights, boxing championships, or being tough. Admitting my own lack of courage and that i’m weak doesn’t mean i’m stupid, a failure, worthless, or a whining, spineless, sniveling, pasty, potbellied old man. Practicing spiritual, emotional, and intellectual honesty in today’s environment is truly an act of courage and bravery. And that’s not being honest on behalf of someone you think is not being honest. We can’t be honest for them according to our perception of what they aren’t being honest about. God never asked us to take a fearless moral inventory of our neighbor you know. That’s not our job. i’m speaking of honesty about ourselves, from God’s point of view, not capitalizing on all our badness, nor living out a fairytale of only seeing and hearing our sparkling moments with no responsibility for our secret actions.
i’ll be the first to say, most of us will never know how strong and courageous we are until it’s the only option left.
In 2Kings 18 when the King of Assyria came against little Judah, Hezekiah was the King at the time. The Assyrian generals called for surrender, speaking fear and defeat to the Jews, telling them all sorts of terrible things. In 2Kings 19 we see Hezekiah, in what i believe is a terrible and stressful situation, going before the Lord on his hands and knees, laying out the Assyrian letters of challenge, saying to God (my paraphrase here), “Can you see this? This is terrible! This is a black day, a terrible day—doomsday! Babies poised to be born, but no strength to birth them. What do You want to do?”
Hezekiah was desperate for courage and strength because he knew if God didn’t step in, they were goners, done for! Not only did Hezekiah step out in faith towards God, but i believe the Lord gave him courage to face down the Assyrians and not surrender. That night, the Lord sent an angel who destroyed the Assyrian army, leaving the invading army dispirited, slump shouldered, useless as weeds, fragile as grass, insubstantial as wind-blown chaff. Judah was saved. They were truly weak and fearful, and they knew it, but in the Lord their God, Yahweh, they found strength and courage to persist and overcome.
Jesus creates hope in the middle of discouragement and gives us endurance in the midst of trouble. Jesus inspires the depressed and motivates those who are feeling down and out. Jesus is the foundation for being courageous and the fuel for the engine of persistence. Friends, let’s put the pedal to the metal for courage and persistence and not be moved from our position of faith. Tell the truth even if your voice shakes.
1 Corinthians 16:13 “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.” Joel 3:10 “…. Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’ ” Say this with me. No, i’m serious, say this with me, “I am strong in Christ!” And again, “I am strong in Christ!” Tell that to yourself in the mirror every morning and night. Tell yourself that as often as necessary until you get it, and get it down in your heart of hearts! Let your ears hear what your mouth is saying… say out loud, “I am strong in Christ!” Write it on the mirror in every bathroom in the house, so every time you look at yourself, the words go in your eyes to remind you.
Let us take the word of the Lord to heart, and stand on it, believing God more than men or the devil, being strong and courageous, persisting and overcoming through Christ our Lord! Think about it.
i’m not a fearful man, but i have been told that it’s not that i’m so courageous but more i’m not smart enough to know when to run away. Either way, in my heart of hearts, i see myself as a strong and courageous man, yet honest and vulnerable. How about you? How do you see yourself, the unvarnished truth?
This has been Outposts, cool jazz and contemplative conversation, a fine establishment in the crook of the river, at the end of Old Field Road. i’m Social Porter and this program has been brought to you by Living In His Name Ministries, Harley Stepp, Ed Zangerle at Zangerle’s Farrier service, Rev. Ralph Banning, Charlie and Jenny McDonald – 2 of the finest people i’ve ever known, old dancing fingers himself – Eddie over at Area 22 Guitars, and Trinity Bakers, where there’s always something good in the oven.
Music was by the Hadouk Trio, Antoine Dufour, Darol Anger, Billy McLaughlin, and Didier Malherbe. All music use is licensed by BMI.
As we go our way this week, present to the world God’s character in you, it’s the fruit of rubbing shoulders with God, not the performance identity of a job, or the presentation identity that we display to others. Every day with Jesus is a day of defining, moments which bring us solid, consistent definition in a very fluid, mobile, and inconsistent world.