![]() In order to stay strong, to do what is good, we need the third cardinal virtue, known alternately as fortitude, courage, or bravery. There may be all sorts of reasons for why it is disagreeable to act according to what we know is best. May God spiritually infuse us with this kind of courage.In our lives many situations arise in which it becomes difficult to do the right thing, even when we know what it is. And when they do, we must call out to Jesus, let Him empower us in faith, and then do what He asks us to do in boldness. Storms will rise, the winds will blow and a variety of trouble and trials will come our way. And who was at the head of the line in leading the fledgling church? Cowardly Peter became Peter the lionhearted. On the day of Pentecost, the Spirit of God transformed the cowardly disciples into fearless, faithful, and courageous men of God. This lesson in courageous faith would later serve Peter well once empowered by the Spirit of God. Finally, they confessed that Jesus was the “Son of God” (v. Second, Jesus identified the issue - their lack of faith. And what did Jesus do for His faithless disciples who were absent courageous faith? First, Jesus reached out and saved Peter. When we cry out to God for help God is faithful to respond. ![]() When he saw himself sinking, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” (v. ![]() The smartest thing Peter did is what we must do as well. When we look away from Jesus, we lose our courage to think and act in ways that please God. Rather than staying focused on Jesus, Peter looked away from Christ to the circumstances of his life (the waves), sinking into the stormy waters as a result. For now, he proved to be a faithless man. His bold risk-taking spirit would serve him well once empowered by the Holy Spirit. The disciple born with his foot in his mouth, is the first man out of the boat. Rather than scold the fragility of His disciples’ faith, Jesus calmed them with assuring words of courage, hope and fearlessness.Įmboldened by Jesus’ infusion of courage, Peter asked to walk on the water. In fact, Jesus said, “Have courage! It is I. ![]() The disciples are terrified, wild-eyed and out of control. The juxtaposition of this scene is remarkable. The disciples were terrified at the sight of Jesus thinking Him to be a ghost (v. Jesus came walking on the water on a mission to rescue His disciples from the stormy seas. The boat they were in as they crossed the sea was being tossed and overwhelmed by the stormy waters. While Jesus was at peace in prayer, the disciples were literally in a boatload of trouble. Jesus was alone in prayer after a busy day of ministry. And when that happened something powerful would often follow. Jesus would often withdraw for time alone with His Father. Courage, on the other hand, is the God-enabled ability to think and act in faith. Discouragement is the inability to think or act as we ought to. The opposite of discouragement is the word courage without the prefix. Words like discouragement, melancholy, depression and spiritual lethargy are cousins - word groupings that speak to the kind of mental and spiritual disposition that warrants our attention. Pastor, Inglewood Baptist Church, Nashville
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