It is high time for a fall house cleaning! As I went through books and papers and boxes of "things" I came across a book given to me years ago, called "Sportin' a 'Tude" by Patsy Clairmont. An old bookmark was in place about one-third the way through the book, as is pretty common for me - as a "doer" who finds it next to impossible to stay still long enough to complete a book.
So I read from Chapter 10 about FortiTUDE and was encouraged to encourage those of us who are finding today's issues challenging. Here is some of that chapter:
"In The Family Book of Christian Values, Stuart and Jill Briscoe quote a poem titled "Courage". The last two lines read, "Courage is fear that has said its prayers". Those words say to me that courage doesn't always start off strong, bit it can find the needed strength in spite of weakness - even in the midst of it. That means little knee-knocking me can qualify as potentially courageous.
I used to believe that I had to feel brave before I could take steps in a scary direction. I have since learned bravery is not what you feel but what you make up your mind to do. The challenge is to "set (our) face like flint" (Isa. 50:7) in the right direction then take the first steps onto an unsure and sometimes intimidating path, with the willingness to see it through. The result? Voila! Fortitude.
Fortitude is like buying a lifetime membership to an exercise club and then actually showing up for each session. Whoa, thing about it: This isn't a word, it's an aerobics course! What an exhausting thought, a lifetime of courage! Admirable, enviable, yet it seems unattainable.
Remember Daniel in the pen, though, accused unfairly by the men, then thrown into the den (not to be confused with the study). He never gave up (his faith), he never gave in (to their demands), he never gave over (to their ways), but he walked through each difficulty one courageous step at a time.
Or consider a more reluctant fortitude candidate: edgy Esther. Talk about having to walk a knee-knocking line - between royalty and relatives, Ether's queenly position was precarious at best. A pretty maiden, she was chosen as queen following a beauty pageant of sorts. But unbeknownst to the king, Esther cam incognito. She had conveniently withheld her Jewish origin so as to avoid unnecessary pressure and to respect her uncle's counsel.
Then an enemy in the kingdom, Haman, devised a treacherous scheme to eradicate the Jews,thus threatening Esther's and her people's lives. She was alerted to the rascal's plot, thereby placing the future of her people in the trembling hands. Esther reluctantly, after big-time nudges from her honourable uncle, proceeded with a daring dinner. . Between drinks and dessert, Esther served hard-boiled Haman to the king. The king gratefully couldn't digest this sneaky snake in the grass but had Haman hung out to dry. (See Esther 7.)
Esther didn't find it easy to put her life (she was young and beautiful) and lifestyle (cushy, spa city) in jeopardy for her people, especially since the last queen was banished forever for her unwillingness to be at King Ahasuerus's beck and call. Young Queen Esther was hesitant to do anything that might vex his highness. But Esther pushed past her feelings of fear and intimidation and became a female of fortitude. She spoke the truth, spared her people, and exposed a sinister plot.
Then there's the apostle Paul, a man of sagacity and tenacity. After his conversion, However, he didn't see himself that way, which was probably a key to his ongoing courage. Paul faced shipwrecks, floggings, stoning, and imprisonment with strength and, of all things, joy.
Excuse me, but if I have to wait more than a few minutes in the checkout line at the store, I'm offended and think I'm really suffering for Jesus. I don't mean to be flippant, but honestly, we in the western world seem to see simple inconveniences as indignations and hardships as unfair atrocities. Paul, on the other hand, saw danger as the opportunity to trust the Lord and hardship as a way to identify with the Saviour. What a 'tude! I sure hope outrageous is contagious.
Actually, instead of waiting to perchance "catch" fortitude, we can prepare ourselves for the times when we'll need strength beyond our own and courage to replace our fear. On close examination, we see the fortitude tactics implemented in the lives of Daniel, Esther, and Paul.
Repeatedly, Daniel presented himself to the Lord. Repeatedly, he made his requests known and then leaned in to listen to God, who hears our words and sees our heart. Repeatedly, amidst the demands of his influential position and threats to his life, Daniel stopped his activities to acknowledge and worship God.
No wonder enemies couldn't intimidate this mighty man of faith. No wonder lions slept peacefully in his presence. No wonder the king rejoiced at the miraculous deliverance of his esteemed counselor, Daniel the lion-hearted.
A willingness to repeatedly bend our knee to the Lord prepares us to rise up clothed in His dignity and strength. Daniel had learned through his life of exile to talk to God. Daniel had years of prayer practice by the time he faced the lions.
But Esther was a different story. She was young and inexperienced in life-threatening dilemmas. She appears to have been a cautious woman, an easy-does-it lady, a let's-not-make-any-waves kind of gal. Along came her uncle and asked her to risk her throne and possibly her life by being a bearer of bad tidings. The king had already eliminated one lippy queen, and Esther didn't want to further rile his royalty. But knowing she must do what she must do, Esther asked that her people fast, as would she and her maidens, before she chatted with his hasty highness.
What a wise young woman to entreat her extended family of faith to fast, because witnesses in humble agreement before the Lord are a powerful fore. Esther feared that if she proceeded and exposed the enemy to the king, she would perish. Instead, she prospered even more than before. Now Esther was secure not only in her position with the king, but also in her position with the King of kings.
The apostle Paul knew the importance of both prayer and fasting, and he added a third cord to our rope of hope that will pull us out of fear and into courage - Scripture.
In 2 Timothy, Paul wrote to his beloved son in the Lord and reminded him of the importance of the Word of God. It seems that those surrounding Paul had grown weary of prisons, punishments, and ongoing persecution, so they deserted him. Paul reminded Timothy that difficult times (and people) would come into this life, and he must stand firm and be courageous (whether others were or not). To prepare hi for hardships, Papa Paul told Timothy to remain faithful to the Sacred Writings, for they would profit hi, reprove him, correct him, and train him.
God breathed the Scriptures knowing we would need guidelines, encouragement, enlightenment, comfort and courage.
When I read that Daniel faced lions, it strengthens me to face the growling beasts in my life."
"Lost hope? There is a rope (prayer, fasting, and the Scriptures), and "a cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart" (Eccles. 4:12b). Remember, we're not born with fortitude, but we can develop into courageous people. And it also help me to remember Who hold the other end of our rope - the One who will never let go."
So I read from Chapter 10 about FortiTUDE and was encouraged to encourage those of us who are finding today's issues challenging. Here is some of that chapter:
"In The Family Book of Christian Values, Stuart and Jill Briscoe quote a poem titled "Courage". The last two lines read, "Courage is fear that has said its prayers". Those words say to me that courage doesn't always start off strong, bit it can find the needed strength in spite of weakness - even in the midst of it. That means little knee-knocking me can qualify as potentially courageous.
I used to believe that I had to feel brave before I could take steps in a scary direction. I have since learned bravery is not what you feel but what you make up your mind to do. The challenge is to "set (our) face like flint" (Isa. 50:7) in the right direction then take the first steps onto an unsure and sometimes intimidating path, with the willingness to see it through. The result? Voila! Fortitude.
Fortitude is like buying a lifetime membership to an exercise club and then actually showing up for each session. Whoa, thing about it: This isn't a word, it's an aerobics course! What an exhausting thought, a lifetime of courage! Admirable, enviable, yet it seems unattainable.
Remember Daniel in the pen, though, accused unfairly by the men, then thrown into the den (not to be confused with the study). He never gave up (his faith), he never gave in (to their demands), he never gave over (to their ways), but he walked through each difficulty one courageous step at a time.
Or consider a more reluctant fortitude candidate: edgy Esther. Talk about having to walk a knee-knocking line - between royalty and relatives, Ether's queenly position was precarious at best. A pretty maiden, she was chosen as queen following a beauty pageant of sorts. But unbeknownst to the king, Esther cam incognito. She had conveniently withheld her Jewish origin so as to avoid unnecessary pressure and to respect her uncle's counsel.
Then an enemy in the kingdom, Haman, devised a treacherous scheme to eradicate the Jews,thus threatening Esther's and her people's lives. She was alerted to the rascal's plot, thereby placing the future of her people in the trembling hands. Esther reluctantly, after big-time nudges from her honourable uncle, proceeded with a daring dinner. . Between drinks and dessert, Esther served hard-boiled Haman to the king. The king gratefully couldn't digest this sneaky snake in the grass but had Haman hung out to dry. (See Esther 7.)
Esther didn't find it easy to put her life (she was young and beautiful) and lifestyle (cushy, spa city) in jeopardy for her people, especially since the last queen was banished forever for her unwillingness to be at King Ahasuerus's beck and call. Young Queen Esther was hesitant to do anything that might vex his highness. But Esther pushed past her feelings of fear and intimidation and became a female of fortitude. She spoke the truth, spared her people, and exposed a sinister plot.
Then there's the apostle Paul, a man of sagacity and tenacity. After his conversion, However, he didn't see himself that way, which was probably a key to his ongoing courage. Paul faced shipwrecks, floggings, stoning, and imprisonment with strength and, of all things, joy.
Excuse me, but if I have to wait more than a few minutes in the checkout line at the store, I'm offended and think I'm really suffering for Jesus. I don't mean to be flippant, but honestly, we in the western world seem to see simple inconveniences as indignations and hardships as unfair atrocities. Paul, on the other hand, saw danger as the opportunity to trust the Lord and hardship as a way to identify with the Saviour. What a 'tude! I sure hope outrageous is contagious.
Actually, instead of waiting to perchance "catch" fortitude, we can prepare ourselves for the times when we'll need strength beyond our own and courage to replace our fear. On close examination, we see the fortitude tactics implemented in the lives of Daniel, Esther, and Paul.
Repeatedly, Daniel presented himself to the Lord. Repeatedly, he made his requests known and then leaned in to listen to God, who hears our words and sees our heart. Repeatedly, amidst the demands of his influential position and threats to his life, Daniel stopped his activities to acknowledge and worship God.
No wonder enemies couldn't intimidate this mighty man of faith. No wonder lions slept peacefully in his presence. No wonder the king rejoiced at the miraculous deliverance of his esteemed counselor, Daniel the lion-hearted.
A willingness to repeatedly bend our knee to the Lord prepares us to rise up clothed in His dignity and strength. Daniel had learned through his life of exile to talk to God. Daniel had years of prayer practice by the time he faced the lions.
But Esther was a different story. She was young and inexperienced in life-threatening dilemmas. She appears to have been a cautious woman, an easy-does-it lady, a let's-not-make-any-waves kind of gal. Along came her uncle and asked her to risk her throne and possibly her life by being a bearer of bad tidings. The king had already eliminated one lippy queen, and Esther didn't want to further rile his royalty. But knowing she must do what she must do, Esther asked that her people fast, as would she and her maidens, before she chatted with his hasty highness.
What a wise young woman to entreat her extended family of faith to fast, because witnesses in humble agreement before the Lord are a powerful fore. Esther feared that if she proceeded and exposed the enemy to the king, she would perish. Instead, she prospered even more than before. Now Esther was secure not only in her position with the king, but also in her position with the King of kings.
The apostle Paul knew the importance of both prayer and fasting, and he added a third cord to our rope of hope that will pull us out of fear and into courage - Scripture.
In 2 Timothy, Paul wrote to his beloved son in the Lord and reminded him of the importance of the Word of God. It seems that those surrounding Paul had grown weary of prisons, punishments, and ongoing persecution, so they deserted him. Paul reminded Timothy that difficult times (and people) would come into this life, and he must stand firm and be courageous (whether others were or not). To prepare hi for hardships, Papa Paul told Timothy to remain faithful to the Sacred Writings, for they would profit hi, reprove him, correct him, and train him.
God breathed the Scriptures knowing we would need guidelines, encouragement, enlightenment, comfort and courage.
When I read that Daniel faced lions, it strengthens me to face the growling beasts in my life."
"Lost hope? There is a rope (prayer, fasting, and the Scriptures), and "a cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart" (Eccles. 4:12b). Remember, we're not born with fortitude, but we can develop into courageous people. And it also help me to remember Who hold the other end of our rope - the One who will never let go."
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