Have You Lost Something?

And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king and he said: Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of silver. And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. (I Kings 20:39-40)

The scripture is clear: a servant was responsible for the guarding and keeping of that which was entrusted to him. In his busyness, with other things, the prisoner escaped. It is entirely possible to lose that which God places in our trust. In Luke 15, a shepherd lost a sheep, a woman lost a coin and a father lost a son which poses the question: Have You Lost Something?

Have You Lost Your Courage in Your Walk? In scripture, the Christian’s relationship with the Lord is often referred to as walking with God. It was said of Noah that “he walked with God”. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says that we are to “walk by faith”. Galatians 5:25 teaches us to “walk in the Spirit”. When a Christian loses courage in their walk with God, it impacts EVERYTHING in their life. Ultimately, it can result in a person turning away from God. There was a point and time in which some of Jesus’ disciples/followers lost their courage in following Jesus. It is said of them in John 6:66 that “they walked no more with Him”. Paul said of Demas: “Demas hath left me having loved this present world”. Satan is the great “DIS-courager”. No matter how dark or difficult the way…. don’t quit on God. Anybody can give up and go back, but it takes COURAGE to walk with God in a wayward world that has no interest in the things of God.

Have You Lost Your Courage in Warfare? In Matthew 26:69-75, we see that Peter lost his courage. Jesus had been arrested, the other disciples had left, and Peter has followed Jesus and the arresting officers into the palace garden. Three times Peter was asked if he knew or had been with Jesus and three times Peter denied knowing Him. Peter…one of the “sons of thunder”, Peter the wave-walker had lost his courage. Sometimes in just trying to live for God and lead our family, we can lose our courage as we encounter one battle after another. Peter, who promised he would NEVER deny Jesus, lost his courage and did what he promised he would never do. When a Christian loses their courage, they will compromise a little here and a little there, until they say yes more than they say no. The good news is, we don’t have to lose our courage. I know many have and many do, but YOU don’t, and I don’t. Somehow, some way we must make a determined decision to let God be God in us. Isaiah 59:19 says, “When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him”. Regardless of what you see, don’t see, feel, don’t feel, hear or don’t hear—Don’t Lose Your Courage.

Without exception, time spent in God’s Word and in prayer, INFUSES us with great courage in our walk and warfare. Through Isaiah the prophet, God provides us with a courage building promise:

“Fear thou not for I am with thee, be not dismayed for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee, I will help thee, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

(Isaiah 41:10)