In your pursuit of divine purpose fulfilment, the virtue of courage is critically necessary. Joshua was given the mandate to take the children of Israel into their inheritance. Along the way he would face battles. God charged him in our opening scripture, “Be strong and of a good courage”. He repeatedly charged him to be courageous (Joshua 1: 7, 9), signifying that it was key in the fulfilment of God’s purpose. Courage is the toughness with which you can face difficult and dangerous situations without retreating or giving in. Other synonyms for courage are bravery, tenacity and fearlessness. As an example, David was courageous. He faced the lion and the bear and killed them when they attacked his flock. Later he faced the giant philistine, Goliath of Gath, when the whole Israel army being fully equipped went hiding in fear (1 Samuel 17). David did all these as a young person. This tells us that courage is not dependent on age. As a young person you can face tough situations and win battles. In 2 Samuel 22:38 he said, “I chased my enemies and destroyed them; I did not stop until they were conquered”. He was fearless.

Courage is not dictated by gender. Queen Esther embraced bravery to approach the King when it was extremely life threatening to do so. She said to Mordecai, “I will go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16). This courageous stand led to the historic deliverance of the Jewish people in Shushan. Being courageous doesn’t even depend on the level of education. Acts 4:13 testifies of the bravery of Peter and John, men not well educated: “The officials were amazed to see how brave Peter and John were, and they knew that these two apostles were only ordinary men and not well educated. The

officials were certain these men had been with Jesus”. With Christ in you, you can face anything and win. Don’t allow fear in your life. God has not given us the Spirit of fear but of power, love and sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). The Holy Spirit we have been given, is the spirit courage.