Courage in the face of adversity by Rev. Dr. James H. Hudson

“Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Psalms 30:5

There is always something trying about going through a challenging struggle.

Our courage during these times can be found in our faith. The trauma of a significantly difficult event may have the tendency to place us at odds with good common sense. Our decision making could be impaired, and soon we could be in a state of confusion, or worse, denial. Even through the adverse events of life, God has promised to be with us.

In the Holy Bible, one example is in the story of Job.

Job was overtaken by extreme stress, adversity and pain. His position stayed fixed on God to such an extent that he stated, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.” (Job 13:15)

Job had lost everything but his wife, and he surely must have felt that his life was close to an end. With all that he had been through, Job’s courage was greatly tested. After his struggle, the events of his life turned around, and God replenished him.

True courage requires struggle.

Frederick Douglass is credited with saying, “Without a struggle, there can be no progress.”

There are any number of catastrophic events that can affect us, i.e., the diagnosis of a terminal illness, the death of a loved one, becoming the caretaker of people severely incapacitated or unable to care for themselves, or a severe depression of life that can cause us to forfeit a good reason to survive in the environment we may be in at the time.

In the book of Joshua (1:6-9), God instructs Joshua to “be strong and of good courage” for the task he is about to undertake, because God will be with him. In the book of Jeremiah (1:17), Jeremiah is instructed to “gird up his loins” and be ready to stand firm in the face of adversity.

Courageous faith will bring about uncommon results. The Holy Bible tells us in the Epistle to the Hebrews, (11:6), that “without faith, it is impossible to please God.” Therefore, having faith is a foundation piece to our courage.

#courage #change