Reasons for Not Losing Heart

Do you ever have a day, even for a fleeting moment, when you wake up and think, “I’m not getting out of bed today”? You’re tempted to pull the covers over your head and pretend, like an ostrich sticking its head in the sand, that if you can’t see the world, the world can’t see you.

Maybe you made the mistake of watching the evening news before going to bed, absorbing the daily gloom and doom reports, receiving assurances by smiling commentators that yes, the sky is indeed falling. Or you’ve learned a family member or close friend has received a devastating diagnosis and you feel at a loss, wishing there was some way you could help. Financial woes might be plaguing you.

Perhaps it’s just the stress of everyday, unrelenting demands and problems that either refuse to go away or when they do disappear, are succeeded by dilemmas even more daunting. Some mornings – or moments – staying in bed and disappearing beneath the blankets seems awfully enticing.

Maybe this doesn’t describe you. Maybe you’re an eternal optimist, maybe a Pollyanna type, fully convinced everything’s going to be okay. Or you’re able to summon up a daily dose of courage and strength, determined not to let even the most dire circumstances deter you from your plans. If so, congratulations. Enjoy your minority group.

Dark moments as I’ve described above don’t strike me often, but admittedly I’ve experienced them now and then. I think back to the blissful oblivion of my childhood. Things seemed so much simpler then, even though in reality they weren’t. I was born just a few years after the end of World War II, but there were still the Korean War, the Cold War, and the Vietnam War to come. Bad news has always been with us.

Even though we hear well-meaning sentiments like “all we need is love” and declarations that world peace can be attained, we see little evidence to support such contentions. Protesters hoisting placards promoting love spew hatred toward those who don’t share their worldviews. Advocates of tolerance demonstrate great intolerance for anyone that disagrees with them. The only “middle ground” in Congress, it seems, consists of the physical aisles that separate the opposing parties.

So why shouldn’t we retreat beneath the bedclothes, burying our hearts and thoughts from the nasty, strife-filled world surrounding us?

We can adopt a “just gotta do what you gotta do” attitude, muddling through each day with gritted teeth and bulldog determination. Or we can turn to the Scriptures and trust in the promises and assurances we find there.

In my wallet I carry two verses that always lift my spirits when everything else seems intent on doing the opposite. “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!” (Psalm 27:13-14).

Obviously this passage was written by the psalmist thousands of years ago, but in my experience – and that of countless millions of other believers up until the present day – God hasn’t changed since then.

There’s another verse that I’ve also found heartening for our faint of heart moments. Isaiah 40:31 declares emphatically, “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

Go ahead, hide under the covers if you like. Stick your head in the sand if that makes you feel better. But I’ll choose instead to look the unsteady present and uncertain future in the eye, knowing that even though I might be helpless to change or fix anything, I serve and worship the God who can. And does.

Confusion About Courage?

Who knows how much courage this craft of war, the LST 325, carried
as the soldiers inside it prepared to storm the beaches of Normandy?

We hear a lot about “courage” these days: Athletes playing through nagging injuries: “Courageous.” Daredevils attempting outrageous stunts, hoping their YouTube videos will go viral: “Courageous.” Entertainer or celebrities making declarations outside the social norm: “How courageous!” people respond in unbridled admiration.

Maybe. Or maybe not. When conforming to nonconformity, as long-haired, bell-bottomed, tie-dyed, “far out, man!” hippies did in the 1960’s, how much “courage” does that require? If it’s “in” to do within your peer group, doesn’t it demand more courage not to do that thing?

When I think of legitimate courage, examples that come to mind are Branch Rickey, then owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play baseball in the Major Leagues. Their story was dramatized in the film “42,” but real life offered more than enough drama for them.

It was 1947, and Rickey decided to do the unthinkable – breaking the color barrier by bringing up Robinson, a member of the Negro League’s Kansas City Monarchs, to play second base for the Dodgers. Rickey had no doubts about Robinson’s athletic prowess, but could the young man withstand the pressure, prejudice and racial epithets to prove a black player could compete at baseball’s highest level?

And Robinson, of course, had to be willing to endure scorn and hatred as the target of mindless bigotry. He was alone. Crossing the boundary into an all-white sport and proving he belonged was hardly the “in” thing at that time. Together, Rickey and Robinson exemplified what true courage should look like.

Even at the controls of an anti-aircraft
gun, sailors must have felt very exposed.

Recently the LST 325 (Landing Ship, Tank) made a stop along the Tennessee River here in Chattanooga, another example of real courage. This stark gray, 330-foot craft was used to transport tanks, vehicles, cargo and military personnel during World War II, as well as the Korean and Vietnam wars. Looking at this battle-scarred vessel, which landed on Omaha Beach in Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944, I couldn’t help but imagine the courage possessed by the hundreds of servicemen who left its austere bowels to storm the beaches on that fateful day. Many of them never left those shores alive.

One other example comes to mind: the Israelites poised to enter the Promised Land, leaving memories of slavery in Egypt behind and entering a foreign land to confront formidable foes and an unfamiliar environment. They had no Navy SEALS, Green Berets or Black Ops forces to neutralize and defeat the opposition. There were no Blackhawk helicopters hovering above to watch their backs, or even automatic weapons. All they had was faith and good old-fashioned “chutzpah” to press ahead.

Moses, who had led Israel out of Israel and around the wilderness for 40 years, had died, leaving his successor, Joshua, to complete the journey. Despite many miracles God had performed, the Israelites had cause for feeling apprehensive. Knowing this, God issued just one directive through their new leader. He instructed Joshua, “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them” (Joshua 1:6).

To ensure His message was understood, God repeated His command. “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go” (Joshua 1:7).

Then for emphasis, God gave the command a third time: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). Joshua passed these commands on to the people of Israel, who vowed to follow him and do as he instructed. Then they in turn exhorted their leader, “Only be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:18).

These words were spoken and written thousands of years ago, but remain just as relevant today for those that follow Jesus Christ. What daunting challenges, what formidable obstacles do you face today – at work, in your home or in some other area of your life? For what do you also need to be “strong and courageous”?

You might be thinking, “That sounds like a good idea. But easier said than done. How can I be courageous with what I’m facing?”

That’s a question many of us are asking, or will be asking at some point in the future. And in today’s turbulent times, with news bombarding us daily about terrorism, disease epidemics, severe weather and many other threats beyond our control, 21^st century living isn’t for the faint of heart. So again we ask, how can we be courageous?

Many times we can’t muster the strength, no matter how hard we try. That’s where faith comes in – the kind modeled decades ago by men like Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson, and probably many soldiers as they were leaving the LST to do battle with an unseen enemy.

We can find this courage as we trust in God, as King David wrote: “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would find the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He will strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!” (Psalm 27:13-14).