Home Tools for your Journey June 18

Thursday, June 18

For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.
—2 Timothy 1:7

When we think of cowardice, the image of the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz comes quickly to mind. We think of cowards as those who are unable to be bold because of fear. They shake and quake when faced with a situation that is unfamiliar or frightening.  A courageous person, on the other hand, seems to be one who is undaunted by anything dangerous—from scaling a rock face in Utah to walking down a dark alley at night. 

When it comes to our soul, we can be sure that we need not shake and quake when faced with something unfamiliar or frightening.  Nor do we need to put on a brave face, grit our teeth, and get through the difficulty by sheer power of will. 

In fact, heaven has given us all we need. We have been given spiritual power that can vanquish our soul’s troubles. We have been given spiritual love that can overcome hurt, and we have been given spiritual self-discipline that can defeat temptation.

We will always encounter spiritual obstacles—some of which may leave us feeling as fearful as a first-time sailor on an angry ocean.  Yet, God has given us the very things we need to scale any rock face or any dark and dangerous channel in our soul.

Gracious God, buoy me up with the certainty that in my deepest fear, I have been given your strength.