When I was in my early teen years my friends and I would get together every November and watch the Wizard of Oz every year. This scene about the Lion looking forward to getting Courage from the Wizard always made us laugh but when a man lacks courage it is not a laughing matter. Before I go any farther let me state that I do not believe that courage is something you possess as much as it is something that is stirred in us by our circumstances.
I am reading a book entitled, "Healing the Masculine Soul" by Gordon Dalbey and I want to share a portion of it from the chapter titled, "The Lion Speaks" and how it spoke to me.
For far too long, the image of manhood in our culture has been corrupted by the model of the “seeker”, the perpetually dissatisfied lone-wolf cowboy, space-jockey, motorcycle rider.
The seeker’s focus, or lifestyle orientation, tends to reflect his own self-serving human nature instead of God’s image or desire for him.
In our secular culture, advertising is quick to provide such human-centered goal images: the truck, the cigar, the beer, the bikini model. But the very vitality of advertising is based upon our dissatisfaction and insecurity, for the securely satisfied customer stops buying. The world therefore fears the man who is secure in his manhood, because he cannot be manipulated into buying its trucks and beer as a means of securing it.
Let me inject here that many churches fear a man who is secure in his manhood because he cannot be manipulated into conforming to the image most want a man to be. I believe we men are longing to be “real men” but we are afraid of the courage and strength it bears. We fear it because our society and churches have through the advertisements and sermons have driven into our minds that authentic manhood is not something to be desired.
What is courage? I do not believe it is something that you have all the time but is something that is stirred by the circumstances you face. Courage is displayed by the most unexpected guys. If you look at those men who have earned the Medal of Honor you will find that many were not the hulk of a guy most movies have as the heroes.
Let me show you from the Bible an example of the most unexpected guy showing courage.
1 Samuel 17 All of the brave men of Israel and their king, Saul, had gathered to face off with the Philistines. Daily they would gather on the top of two hills separated by a valley. I imagine that each morning the Israel army would get up and have scrambled eggs and toast and then put on their armor and head up to the top of the mountain.
Once they got there they would look across at the army of the Philistines and one would suddenly yell out an insult. As the words drifted across the valley the Philistines would move aside so that their champion could make his way down the hillside to the valley floor. His name was Goliath and he was a monster of a man. He would look up at the Israel army and taunt them by making fun of their lack of courage to send a man to face him.
One day a teenage boy arrived from the countryside with a bag of food for his brothers. I imagine that with the excitement of a teen boy he moved through the camp looking at the weapons and armor of the army. He imagined fighting the enemy and ended up on the mountaintop looking down at the valley just as Goliath began his taunt.
You know the end of the story David killed Goliath and cut off his head using Goliath’s sword. Single handed David brought about the end of the stand off.
Where did David get his courage to fight a man who was like a giant Redwood tree? It came from deep within David and it was a Natural Supernatural Courage that came from a strong belief in a God who would protect and guide him.
I do not care what you are facing and how weak you are physically you can have the same courage David had when you have confidence in God’s love for you and in the fact His hand is mightier than any man’s. You may not face a giant like Goliath but you do face giants of depression, rejection, fear, pornography, greed, pride and many other emotionally enslaving habits.
With the help of God’s Holy Spirit you can have the courage to fight those battles and with His weapons and armor found in Ephesians 6: 10-15. It begins this way: “Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might.”
That is what God is telling you today: “Be strong, have courage and be a man of God.”
The seeker’s focus, or lifestyle orientation, tends to reflect his own self-serving human nature instead of God’s image or desire for him.
In our secular culture, advertising is quick to provide such human-centered goal images: the truck, the cigar, the beer, the bikini model. But the very vitality of advertising is based upon our dissatisfaction and insecurity, for the securely satisfied customer stops buying. The world therefore fears the man who is secure in his manhood, because he cannot be manipulated into buying its trucks and beer as a means of securing it.
Let me inject here that many churches fear a man who is secure in his manhood because he cannot be manipulated into conforming to the image most want a man to be. I believe we men are longing to be “real men” but we are afraid of the courage and strength it bears. We fear it because our society and churches have through the advertisements and sermons have driven into our minds that authentic manhood is not something to be desired.
What is courage? I do not believe it is something that you have all the time but is something that is stirred by the circumstances you face. Courage is displayed by the most unexpected guys. If you look at those men who have earned the Medal of Honor you will find that many were not the hulk of a guy most movies have as the heroes.
Let me show you from the Bible an example of the most unexpected guy showing courage.
1 Samuel 17 All of the brave men of Israel and their king, Saul, had gathered to face off with the Philistines. Daily they would gather on the top of two hills separated by a valley. I imagine that each morning the Israel army would get up and have scrambled eggs and toast and then put on their armor and head up to the top of the mountain.
Once they got there they would look across at the army of the Philistines and one would suddenly yell out an insult. As the words drifted across the valley the Philistines would move aside so that their champion could make his way down the hillside to the valley floor. His name was Goliath and he was a monster of a man. He would look up at the Israel army and taunt them by making fun of their lack of courage to send a man to face him.
One day a teenage boy arrived from the countryside with a bag of food for his brothers. I imagine that with the excitement of a teen boy he moved through the camp looking at the weapons and armor of the army. He imagined fighting the enemy and ended up on the mountaintop looking down at the valley just as Goliath began his taunt.
You know the end of the story David killed Goliath and cut off his head using Goliath’s sword. Single handed David brought about the end of the stand off.
Where did David get his courage to fight a man who was like a giant Redwood tree? It came from deep within David and it was a Natural Supernatural Courage that came from a strong belief in a God who would protect and guide him.
I do not care what you are facing and how weak you are physically you can have the same courage David had when you have confidence in God’s love for you and in the fact His hand is mightier than any man’s. You may not face a giant like Goliath but you do face giants of depression, rejection, fear, pornography, greed, pride and many other emotionally enslaving habits.
With the help of God’s Holy Spirit you can have the courage to fight those battles and with His weapons and armor found in Ephesians 6: 10-15. It begins this way: “Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might.”
That is what God is telling you today: “Be strong, have courage and be a man of God.”
