Bible Courage

It’s been said that there are 366 “fear not”s in the Bible. That’s one for every day of the year, including leap year. Of course, most people just pass this quote along. I have to admit that I have yet to take the time to count the number of times the Bible tells me not to fear, to take courage, or some variation that means the same thing. But the truth is that it’s a lot! After all, Paul tells Timothy that God did not give us a spirit of fear. Fear is not something God wants us to feel or experience. Instead, God wants us to have courage.

According to Merriam-Webster, the word courage means: “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.” When we have courage as the world defines it, we do things even when we are afraid. The KJV dictionary says that courage means: “that quality of mind which enables men to encounter danger and difficulties with firmness, or without fear or depression of spirits.” John Piper at desiringgod.org defines courage this way. “Christian courage is the willingness to say and do the right thing regardless of the earthly cost, because God promises to help you and save you on account of Christ.” I think I like that definition the best.

A great example of this “willingness to say and do the right thing regardless of the earthly cost” is the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3. If you remember the story, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were court officials for Nebuchadnezzer of Babylon. They had been taken from Jerusalem into exile to serve in the king’s court. At this time, Nebuchadnezzer had decided to make a golden idol. He commanded that all the government officials bow to the idol whenever they heard the sound of music. Whoever did not bow to the idol when the music was played would be thrown into a fiery furnace and burned alive as punishment for failure to obey the king.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow to the idol. Some other officials, ones who hated the Jews, told the king that these three refused to bow. The king brought them forward and gave them another opportunity to obey his law. They refused again. Then, Nebuchadnezzer had the fire heated to seven times the normal level. It was so hot that it killed the guards who took Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego forward to throw them in. The three were pushed into the fire in all their elaborate court clothing, and the king was sure that they would burn.

In order to have biblical courage, you have to have a sure knowledge of who God is.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were three youths who were a part of the noble and royal families of Israel. They grew up in Jerusalem under the reign of King Josiah. At this time, the nation of Israel had been divided into the nation of Israel and the nation of Judah, which contained sections of the tribe of Benjamin as well. The northern kingdom of Israel had been conquered by the Assyrians roughly 100 years earlier. The nation of Judah was all that remained until Babylon conquered the area. There was a rotation of kings during this time period in both the north and the south. Some of the kings were righteous and led the nation back to the laws of God. Some of the kings were incredibly wicked and drove the nation to idol worship and away from God.

King Josiah was a righteous king. He led a religious reformation during the time of his reign. The Bible says that Josiah walked in the ways of his father David and did not turn to the right or to the left. Josiah ordered that the temple be repaired. During the repairs to the temple, the high priest Hilkiah found The Book of the Law. Up to this point, the book had been lost. It was after reading this book of the law that King Josiah felt the nation needed to turn back to the exclusive worship of God and to follow the laws that God had given to Moses. He was afraid of the curses written down in the text that were the penalty for failure to follow the laws of God.

So Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Daniel, and the other youths taken by Nebuchadnezzer were raised in a period of great revival. They were schooled in the laws of God. The pagan altars and temples had been destroyed. Pagan priests had been executed. These young men were taught the laws of God. They knew who He was. They knew what He had done for the nation of Israel, and they were committed to following His laws and decrees no matter what. When Nebuchadnezzer ordered everyone to bow down to his idol, these youths would have remembered that the first rule of God was to have no other gods. The next two laws were about worshiping idols and serving them. They knew that God was a jealous God and that worshiping idols of any kind would lead them to destruction. These young men knew God.

In order to have biblical courage you have to believe that God is able to do miraculous things.

When confronted with the fiery furnace, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had an interesting response. They said, “we do not need to defend ourselves to you in this matter.” That’s faithful confidence. These young men knew that the only person they answered to was God. Then they went a step further: “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand.  But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

These young men knew that God was able to do miraculous things. They had faith. They believed that God was able to save them from the hand of the king. They may not know how God was going to do that, but they had the faith that He would do it. They also demonstrated that their faith in God’s ability was not predicated upon His actions. Even if God chose not to save them, in their minds it didn’t matter. They weren’t looking at just what God would do. They were looking at what God could do. They were acknowledging the sovereignty of God. They could do this because of their relationship with God and because of their intimate knowledge of Him and His ways.

They did not limit God by saying they trusted Him and would continue to trust Him only so long as He did miraculous things for them. They did not limit God by saying that He needed to save them in such and such a way or in such and such a manner. No. They simply said that God can and that we believe He will, BUT even if He does not, He is still God. That’s powerful. That’s the basis of biblical courage. When you know that God can and believe that God will but you decide to do what’s right regardless of whether or not God acts on your behalf in the way that you want Him to act, you have a strong foundation of faith that cannot be shaken. You can do anything with faith like that.

It is easier to have biblical faith when you are surrounded by a faith community.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were always together. I believe that even if only one of them had been in that assembly, they would have refused to bow to the idol, but together there was power in their identity and their sense of community. They were accountable to each other and to Daniel who had come into captivity with them. Even though Daniel is not mentioned in this story, we know that when the boys first arrived it was Daniel who led them not to violate the dietary laws of God. As a result, God blessed all of them with wisdom and intelligence. God promoted them to the high offices they currently held.

Even if one of them began to waiver and doubt, he had only to look to his companions to be reminded of all that God had done to that point and to be reminded of God’s faithfulness. Sometimes we find ourselves in a situation that demands courage of us. It is easier to be courageous when we remember what God has done for us, when we can be reminded of the miracles God has done in the past. It is easier to be courageous when you have someone watching you. It is easier to be courageous when you have a community of believers holding you accountable for your faith.

If you are not a member of a community of believers that can surround you in difficult times and remind you of what God has done in the past and what He can do in the future, you need to begin looking for one. It could be a church body. It could also be a small, select group of fellow believers that you form strong friendships with. All you need is a couple of others who have strong faith and tenacity and agree to encourage you, build you up, and hold you accountable before God.

We know what happens in this story. The king looks into the fire and he sees four men walking around instead of three. The biblical courage of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego was a powerful witness to King Nebuchadnezzer. It allowed him to see Jesus in the midst of the fire. The king orders that the men be brought out. They were unharmed. But even beyond that, their clothes did not even smell like smoke.

You may find yourself in a situation like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego one day. Oh, you probably won’t find yourself ordered to bow to a statue or be thrown into a furnace, but you might find yourself told to compromise your beliefs in order to keep your job. Or perhaps you will be told to do this little thing you know God wouldn’t approve of in order to avoid jail. Tell this little lie. Work on Sunday. Do something that elevates something higher than God in your life. What will you do? Will you stand with biblical courage like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and say “No” regardless of the cost? Will you trust God to save you from the furnace?

If you do, I can promise you that Jesus will walk through that trial with you. You might lose your job. You might lose your reputation. You may end up in jail, but Jesus will be in that position with you, and when He brings you out on the other side, you will not only escape with “no smell of smoke” on you, you will be blessed and promoted. Just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were.