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Friends, greetings in Jesus Mighty Name! Today, I will be sharing with you on what I title, “Courage in Times of Trials”. Life is full of ups and downs. While some are laughing, others are mourning; while others get promoted, some are demoted; while some get richer, others are passing through abject poverty; some living healthy, while others are sick, always in and out of the hospital. Oh yes, this is the irony of life. The beauty of it all is that, there’s always a way out for those who know the way. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and life” (John 14:6); “For without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Robert Schuller wrote a book titled, “Tough times don’t last, but tough people do.” Really, what separate victors from victims is their propensity to hang on – a never give up attitude – even when circumstances around them cries otherwise. Proverbs 24:10 says, “If you faint in the day of adversity, Your strength is small.”

What is courage? Courage means bravery, audacious, the inner strength to never yield to fear, but remain strong in the face of an intimidating circumstance. What keeps a soldier going in the midst of a fiery battle is the size of his courage. It doesn’t matter the size of the gun, if the courage to advance forward is not there, you’re already defeated. In the heat of a battle, I have seen soldiers who left their machine guns, and took to their heels for safety, while others surrendered to their enemies and became prisoners of war. And I have also seen soldiers with little or no sophisticated weapons with them, but stood their ground, and defeat a well fortified military opponent. The children of Israel were caught in a web. In front of them was the red sea, and behind them was Pharaoh with his army. They were so afraid, and cried out to the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward” (Exodus 14:15). Meaning, “March Forward in Courage”. The Lord can’t be with you and you’re scared.

In Joshua 1:9, the Lord echoed so loud to the hearing of Joshua saying, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” On many occasions, the Lord was hammering on Joshua to never loose sight of being courageous. In other words, have Faith in God, and Fear Not. It doesn’t matter if God is present with you, if you’re are afraid while he’s there, then you render him incapacitated to help you. Apostle Peter asked Jesus, should I come out of the boat to meet you? Jesus answered him, Come! Then Peter obeyed, jumped out of the boat, landed on the water, and began to walk upon the sea. So, Jesus stood watching, and so were the other disciples at their comfort zone in the boat. But along the line while walking on the water, Peter lost courage, became fearful due to the boisterous wind, and he began to sink right in the presence of the Master. Then he cried out, and Jesus caught him by hand and said to him: “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matt. 14:22-31).

Listen, no one is immune to the Trials of life. The problem of life will always present itself to us. Yes, it’s meant to make us better, not bitter. The Lord declares in Isaiah 43:1-2, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you.” From this scripture, it is not “if you pass through”, but “when you pass through”. Meaning, it’s a matter of WHEN. In fact, I just came out from one. Really, it’s a continuous process, that we go through in life. When you come out from one, you get elevated. What qualities you for the next promotion is your ability to “pass through” without giving up.

As the saying goes, “When life throws at you lemon, make lemonade out of it.” It isn’t the trials of life that’s the big problem, but how you react to the trials is what that matters. That’s the reason you see two people going through similar situation or circumstance, one goes on top, while the other person goes under. What happened? Faith in God. When fear comes knocking at your door, you must answer it by faith. The only antidote to fear is faith. Yes, nothing else is effective against it. “So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, be removed and be cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says” (Matk 11:22-23). You’re Blessed. Have a fantastic week. With love, Elvis!