The cowardly lion in the Wizard of OZ gives this speech;
”Courage! What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What
makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage! What makes the elephant charge his
tusk in the misty mist, or the dusky dusk? What makes the muskrat guard his
musk? Courage! What makes the Sphinx the Seventh Wonder? Courage! What makes
the dawn come up like thunder? Courage! What makes the Hottentot so hot? What
puts the ape in ape-ricot? What have they got that I ain’t got? Courage! - - -
You can say that again.”
Poor cowardly lion. All the size and physical might of the real thing and he uses it to bully weaker things - even the small dog Toto - who stands up to him and sends him whimpering off. He attributes just about everything, every mundane action – the waving of an inanimate flag, even a syllable in the word apricot - to courage.
Poor action-less, victimized lion! Everything seems to have
courage but him. Or has he simply rejected courage for fear of what it may require
of him? How was he convinced that he, the very emblem of courage, was left out
of the courage distribution? Was it a past failure? A string of failures? Was
it a compelling lie that he bought? The absurdity of it all is very well made
by his proclamation.
But isn’t he us, at times, in a way?
Our cowardly lion eventually finds courage in fellowship
with others in a cause far greater than himself through circumstances running
away from the things he feared and toward something he didn’t understand. At the
end of the day, though his posture has somewhat improved, he is really the
same individual that he was at the beginning of his adventure - just a bit
more conscious of who he is and what has been revived inside of him.
I find that courage and success are close relatives. Randy
Alcorn writes, in the May 13, 2013 CBMC “Monday Manna” titled, “Courage in the
Workplace”, about the Courage to Stand, the Courage to Proceed Despite Danger,
the Courage to Persevere and the Courage to Act on Convictions. These all
underscore perhaps the most popular notion of courage which is action in the
face of fear or danger.
Courage is power. Would not a life lived with such power be
a successful one?
Winston Churchill said, “Success is not final, failure is
not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
Thomas Edison said this about success, “Many of life’s
failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when
they gave up.”
Bill Cosby; “I don’t know the key to success but the key to
failure is trying to please everybody.”
I knew a successful salesman who learned from experience
that for every one hundred prospecting calls he could expect a success rate of
five. Every rejection was met with this enthusiastic response, “That’s one more
rejection toward my goal of 95!”
Where does the kind of power to Stand, Proceed, Persevere
and Act on Convictions come from? I think it comes from an inner
power activated by a love connection with God.
Courage is an essential element of the character God had in mind when He
created us in His image. It is imprinted like programming language on our hearts. Whenever we observe a selfless act of true courage something resonates in our hearts that stirs a call to courage.
After much thought and contemplation I believe that
love is most expressed by one's obedience and trust toward another. True obedience covers trust so –
let’s simplify it to love being obedience to another regardless of self. Think about it. True courage is an act of love because to love God is to obey and trust God and to obey God will require courage.
The Bible is full of commands to stand firm and to be
courageous such as in 1 Corinthians 16:13; “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act
like men, be strong.”
A brother in the faith recently pointed me to the book of
Joshua, first chapter, verses 1 through 18. He knew that God often emphasizes
His most profound instructions and commands by repeating them, but what he
found remarkable was that in Joshua God uncharacteristically repeats Himself
TWICE on the topic of courage! Remarkable indeed. So I looked it up and sure enough
God does repeat Himself not once but twice for Joshua to be courageous, to be
of good courage, not to be discouraged. Why? Because God knows what Joshua is
going to face and go through on account of Him. Good knows what we are going
through and will go through on account of Him.
Jesus Himself on his final evening with His disciples before
the crucifixion (the Upper Room Discourse) in John 16:33 (NIV) sums it up; “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In
this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Jesus is encouraging them to take courage.
Let’s not leave out God in the person of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 8:26 (NKJV); “Likewise the Spirit also helps in
our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the
Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be
uttered.”
The voice of courage is that still,
small, often whispering, compelling, convicting voice that rises like a trumpet
call for us to GO, or WAIT, or DO IT, or to STAND FAST and not compromise in
the face of a threat to our faith, our testimony or His glory - despite the (apparent)
risk. It is the voice of truth.
Philippians 2:13 (NIV) seals it
with; “for it is God who works in you to will
and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose.” There it is! God is that power. That
courage and all courage comes from God. Courage is God rising up through us. And so every act resulting from
this noble sort of courage is to His glory, His account. This power, this courage is
released through love that manifests in the form of trusting obedience. And we
know the victory has been won by the blood of Jesus.
Living in the moment, responsive to His commands, trusting
in His wisdom and love we can focus on the process and release the outcome to
His providence. This is courageous living, the key to a successful life.
Randy Alcorn defines courage as; “willingness to step beyond
the confines of the familiar, established and dependable.”
What is your definition of courage?
Oswald Chambers writes, in what might be a definition of
success; "God's call is for you to be his loyal friend, to accomplish His
purposes and goals for your life."
What is your definition of success and a successful life?
All the best!
Bill
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