Building Courage
Judges 6:27
"Then Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had said unto him: and so it was, because he feared his father's household, and the men of the city, that he could not do it by day, that he did it by night."
When you think of the great men in the Scriptures, it is hard not to put Gideon on that list. Gideon is one of the great stories you will read about; however, you can see from the verse above that he did not always exhibit great courage. When God initially called Gideon, he was hiding his wheat in the winepress. In the verse above, he was not taking a bold stand in the middle of the day, but he was taking a stand in the middle of the night hoping that nobody would know who destroyed the altar of Baal. Something happened between the time that he was victorious over the great Midianite army and the time that he was making a stand at night. There were some steps that he took to build his courage so that he could make the great stand against the Midianite army.
First, he built a personal altar. You will never have the courage to do what God wants you to do without having a personal time with Him daily in the Scriptures and prayer. A personal time with God always helps build your courage, for the Word of God is full of promises that build your courage. How can you know God's promises if you don't spend time with Him in the Scriptures? You may think you are too busy to read the Scriptures, but you must find time to have a personal altar with God, for it is in this time that your courage is boosted.
Second, you must be available when others aren't. Gideon was busy, but he was available for God. One of the reasons people don't have courage to do great things for God is because they have time to serve the world, but they have no time to serve God. God uses people who are available to do His will. If the things of the world take precedence over God, then you will never find the courage to do God's will.
Third, you must believe God. Though Gideon did not understand how God could use Him, he trusted that God could if He said He would. Belief in what God tells you to do is what will give you the courage you need to do great things for God. Fear will always be present whenever God tells you to do something, but you must believe that God will do what He says He will do.
Last, it takes answered prayer to gain courage to do God's work. When Gideon had his fleece experiences, they were nothing more than answers to prayer. The greatest way to build your courage to do something for God is to get answers to prayer. Christian, God can't answer your prayer if you don't pray. God promises to answer prayers, and He will answer prayer, but you must be willing to ask Him to do something before He can answer your prayers. When God does answer your prayers, you should record those answers so that it can help build your confidence for future challenges you face.
It takes courage to serve the LORD. You may be like Gideon who seemed to be lacking in the courage category, but if you will follow the steps that he took, you will find the courage you need to do the tasks that God asks you to do. God can and will build your courage if you will simply give Him a chance by following the steps above. You can always take courage in the fact that people whom God used in the past started out with a lack of courage, but He gave them the courage they needed to face their challenges which eventually gave them the great courage for which they are now known. Don't let your lack of courage stop you from serving God, but remember that if God asks you to do something that He will provide the courage you need to do it.