“See, God has come to save me. I will trust in him and not be afraid. The Lord God is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.” Isaiah 12:2 (NLT)
Let’s be honest folks, the world today is not exactly a good place. It requires constant bravery on the part of a Christian to just stay afloat, let alone shine for Christ as we are commanded to do. I know many people that struggle with something that many do not see as being very important for a modern day Christian, particularly here in the United States. Those people struggle with being brave. Many find it hard to be brave, however, being brave is much simpler that you may think. Bravery really only requires one main component. To be brave, you must put complete trust in God. Bravery is more about trust than anything else.
We should not put faith in our own abilities. Rather, God should be the recipient of our faith so that He can fight our battles for us, just as he did for David when he fought Goliath. Many people may see this battle as an example of the bravery of David, however, I believe there is a more important aspect to look at. David had to trust completely in God before he was able to ultimately slay the giant known as Goliath. David trusted that God would help him just as he had helped him in the past, and knew that everything would work out according to the will of God. The following verses help to illustrate that.
“But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine…” 1 Samuel 34-37 (NIV)
David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.” 1 Samuel 13:45-47 (NIV)
David had to surrender himself and trust in God before he could be brave for God. It was because of this that God defied the obvious and granted victory for David.
How ridiculous would it have been for David to come out and taunt Goliath with; “I don’t believe that God can help me to kill you, but i’ll try and be brave and fight you anyways!” It would have been absolutely absurd. The funny thing is that many Christians, including myself, try and do that every day. We try and thrust bravery upon ourselves when we don’t even trust that God will come through. We have to have a foundation of trust in our spiritual walk with God. Trying to have a walk with God without having trust in him would be like trying to ride a bike with now wheels. You will go nowhere and ultimately accomplish nothing. I know that sounds harsh, but if it hurts, it is probably describing your walk. You see, God grants victory in accordance with your belief in him. If you do not believe, you will ultimately lead a life of defeats. There are many examples in the Bible of Jesus pouring favor upon those who simply believe and trust. (Matthew 9:18-26)
We must be trusting Christians before we can be brave Christians. It just makes sense, think about it. If you do not trust, what reason do you have to be brave.
“Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.” Isaiah 12:2 (NIV)
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