Dare to Be Courageous Part 3: Fear

Welcome and Thank You

First thing I would like to do is thank all of the faithful followers of the Dare to Series and also a big welcome to those who may be joining our little community for the first time. Although numbers are not everything, the more there are the more people that are reached. So for this thank you and please continue to spread the word! Also, we want to hear from you! If you have any stories of how Dare to Series has helped you in your life or have any requests for future topics please send them to daretoseries@yahoo.com. All emails will be responded to and all victory stories and testimonies will be shared here on the blog with the permission of the writer! Again thank you!

Facing the Inevitable 

Last time we met we looked at the idea that if our pride gets in the way, we can never truly be courageous enough to stand up for God. We looked at the story of Daniel and the lions den and how the pride of those around him not only put him in harms way but, ended their very lives.  Today we continue our series with the second of the hurdles that we must cross over and this is fear. 

In the book of 1 Samuel, there was a war that was raging between the Philistines and the Jews. At this time King Saul, the first king of Israel, was on the throne and the hero of our story, David, was a young shepherd boy. Everything would've gone much easier for the Jewish army if it were not for one great weapon the opposing army had. Standing at over nine feet tall and carrying an extremely heavy amount of armour, the giant of a man Goliath was the only thing that stood between the two armies. Unfortunately, this was enough to halt the Jews in their tracks. Goliath knew this and would shout out and taunt the Jews for one of them to be courageous enough to fight him. None of the men in the army were willing to do so. When David came to bring supplies to his brothers who were part of the army, he heard the taunts of the behemoth of a man and asked why no one stood up to him. When he found out that everyone of the men in the army were afraid he volunteered to fight him. When laughed off by his brothers,  he went to the king. Saul laughed him off but, soon agreed to allow him to go and fight. By seeking strength in God and with his sling and a single stone, David struck down the giant. Then with Goliath's own sword, cut off the head of giant and praised God.

Now we can look at this story in two ways: we can seek strength in  God and also find courage in him.For the sake of this series we will be looking at the later of the two. David stood firm on the foundation that he had built with God. He sought after God's will and without any thought of himself, stood before a giant. Not only this but, when everyone else was too afraid to stand up for God, David did.  The Bible says he found strength in God. In order to do this he had to find courage. By realizing that no one can stand against us when God is on our side, he let go of his fear and stood up for what was right. Fear cripples us and is the exact opposite of courage. If we live our lives in a state of ignoring the idea that God commands legions of angels and will not allow harm to come to us, then we have forgotten the love that He has shown us. Yes at times we may be afraid but, whom shall we fear when our God goes before us and stands between us and our enemies. 

Before we end today I want to pose a dare. Stand firm on the foundation you have built with Christ. If you have not already built one, it's not to late. Accept Christ as your personal Savior and stand on the knowledge that He loves us and will stand for us. 

Fear is not trusting Him when He says, "I can handle this; I am bigger then this problem and I will stand in your place and carry you through if you'll let me." Question is, do you trust him?