Hebrews 12:12-13
Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.
Courage is Scripture is not the same as courage in the world. Courage is valued by both the world and the kingdom of God. But the sources could not be more different. The world calls on us to look deep within ourselves. We are told to listen to our hearts, discover for ourselves our own paths, and then muster our courage to make our own journeys. Scripture paints a very different picture of courage.
One example is in Hebrews 12. Here the author encourages his readers not to grow weak in their knees or lose their grip. He reminds them that in light of the perfect and everlasting sacrifice of Jesus they can stand firm. They are not standing by their own strength or righteousness. Yet, they stand in the presence of the holy Lord. That appears to be the real courage in the author’s mind. They are enduring difficulties at the moment, but he reminds his readers that they have approached the God whose holiness consumes all things sinful. The thought seems to be that the difficulties of this world can be endured because we live and exist within the presence of the most holy Lord who has promised to never leave us or forsake us (Heb. 13:5-6).
