Courage and foolishness

Published 2:45 pm Monday, October 14, 2019

Courage and foolishness: The difference between the two is really not that great. What is courage to some is foolishness to others.

Do you remember the story of David and Goliath? David’s the kid with a few smooth stones and an awesome sling shot who nailed the warrior giant Goliath with one of those stones right between the eyes. We say David has great courage because we know the ending of the story: Goliath struts, David lets fly the stone, Goliath falls, David wins. Break out the Champagne and celebrate! But, what would you have felt, had you actually been there before the battle began?

“It takes a lot of courage to put things in God’s hands.”

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Imagine a 9-foot monster wearing 200 pounds of armor taunting you every morning to come and fight. Day after day for 40 days you watch this ugly brute march up to your camp and insult you and your God. His threats and taunts produce the desired result: fear. You want to do something. You want to stand up to this bully. You want to do what is right, but instead, you watch and wait.

“To give ourselves completely, our lives, our hope, our plans.”

Who are the giants strutting into your life? We all have them you know. It may be a person, or a job situation, or a problem in the family, but you are facing a giant. And this giant does not come out once and then go away. It comes relentlessly morning and evening, day after day, hammering at your willpower and challenging your senses.

How do you react? Do you run? Do you give-in? Do you compromise? You want to react with courage, but then you stop and think, “Who am I to deal with a problem this big? Why should I be different from everyone else?” This isn’t courage. It’s foolishness.

“To follow where God leads us and make His will our own.”

All odds were against him, but David was not impressed or intimidated by Goliath. David always trusted that no matter how big the giants, God is always so much bigger. But you are no David. You may wish brave thoughts but somehow fear paralyzes your good intentions. David, however, believed and trusted in God to see him through. Can you? Is your faith in God big enough?

“But all it takes is foolishness, to go the way alone!”

The courage of David is not found in slingshots versus armor or brains versus brawn. There is no guarantee that a David will always defeat Goliath. Rather it is David’s willingness to do what is right, wherever that leads and whatever the consequences.

Giants loom and we allow ourselves to be intimidated. We forget to pray; to believe. We forget to trust. David walks up to Goliath and says, “All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s.” God honors that kind of courage. God will honor you when you see that even a giant like Goliath is a dwarf standing next to God.

REV. LARRY E. DAVIES can be reached larrydavies@vaumc.org.