The last couple weeks have been all but paralyzing for our country. I wish I could say that my own life was immune to the trauma, yet that is certainly not the case. I also wish that my prayer life was inspired by diligence and raw desire for intimacy with the Lord. More often than not, it's as if both the world around me and IN ME, compel me to prayer, with hopes of moving from merely enduring life, to eventually overcoming.

If the last 3 years of recovery have taught me anything, it's that true strength does not come from my own self, but from Christ's power living in me. I'm not quite sure that right now, strength, is the operative word I, or we as a nation would use to describe our overall need. Incidentally, the next few months will be interesting to see our country enter into recovery. Recovery, as many of us know, has a very ingenious way of revealing what is truly going on inside of us. It uses the entire process to uncover both the healthy and unhealthy parts of our lives, usually for all the world to see.

The word that comes to mind as I pray and look at my own life needs, is COURAGE. The word courage encompasses so much more than mere strength. For starters, courage involves resistance to fear and intimidation. Just the word courage, triggers a mechanism inside me that points towards standing up against some sort of power or imperialistic domination. Call it satan, call it addiction, call it infidelity, call it divorce, anger, hurt, offense, injustice.....the words are almost endless aren't they? Depending on your situation and where you personally sit right now, your words reflect what you are up against. Truth be told, in recovery, we are all up against something or even someone: ourselves. Whether it be recovering from an affair, addiction, separation, or divorce, courage is needed if we are to triumph, and in some cases, merely survive the day ahead of us. I've needed courage to get out of bed some days, and I've needed courage to face various questions from my wife. I've also needed this courage to lead my family, and I've needed this courage to humble myself and serve them as well. I've needed courage when I had to completely start over in life after being forced out of the ministry. If we are going to become, and/or even remain victorious over apathy and indifference towards our spouses, marriages, and overall destiny, we will need God-breathed, God-ordered, aggressive and unrelenting courage.

Courage also implies a resistance to intimidation. When one has fallen, and come face to face with personal moral failure, courage is needed. Might I go a step further and declare that if we are going to get our lives back, and our true Christ-like self image back, courage is mandatory. I'm not at any rate referencing some humanistic motto of "keep a stiff upper lip," or "suck it up." Nor am I suggesting we go rent the movie Braveheart and think that by some sort of Christian osmosis we will become as brave, mighty, or intolerant as the great William Wallace was.

No, I'm talking about a pure, "If God be for me, who can be against me, I can do ALL THINGS through Christ who strengthens me, praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle," type of courage, where we get back up, fight back, and passionately refuse to be a punching bag any longer.

In this world of Christian grace that we live in, we can find ourselves prone to leaving the courage to Jesus, while we sit back, read our bibles, say grace, and watch life happen. I could not disagree more. Though I know that nothing good dwells in me, and all that I do is with Christ's power operating inside of me, I also know that Jesus will not, and cannot, do it without me and my will being in line with His. Though He is ultimately responsible for the victory, and He will make a way where there seems like there is no way, courage must be a conscious choice of mine. After all, business awaits. Leading my home awaits. Serving my wife and kids awaits. Dishes await. Business negotiations await. Resistance to the enemy's plans, strategies and tactics awaits!

Courage is to empower me, while obedience positions me to utilize this Holy Courage, while walking in His grace to find and fulfill my and our, destiny.

Grace is a divine necessity, but friends, courage is mandatory. What allows grace to flow and find its wings, is our courage to obey, face our own personal giants, and live a life we never thought possible; especially after moral failure. Rather than collapse in fear and despair, courage is what gives us the inner fortitude to refuse to give in to what presses in on us, though it seem often times immense and insurmountable.

David needed courage to fight, lead, repent, and carry on after his own fall.
Moses needed courage to confront, lead, and endure.
Elijah needed courage to stand up to pagans, even though he felt alone.
Abraham needed courage to believe, obey, and almost even sacrifice his very own son.
Joshua needed courage to answer the call of God upon his life, and lead God's people into their inheritance.
Jesus displayed more courage than anyone by fulfilling the call upon His own life, confronting temptation, humiliation, rejection and death; while enduring a horrible, and excruciating torture on the cross. All for you, and for me.

Find a prominent biblical character used by God to affect history, and courage was mandatory.

When we really think about it, we are going to face our present and future situations regardless of our feelings. Problems are coming our way, even now, regardless of what we may FEEL about them. Don't you think we might as well face them with courage? In fact, courage is really only manifested in the face of fear anyway. So shouldn't we at the very least, go down swinging courageously, giving ourselves at the very least, the opportunity to win? ((Remember, even as I'm typing this, I'm writing to myself))

As I was studying for this piece, I was reading the Matthew Henry Commentary on the bible. I read this quote and it convicted me, inspired me, and God used it to reach deep down in me for such courage. It said "a coward fights only when victory is guaranteed." I had to read it and re read it several times, to get its full message.

Please understand, I write these things more to myself, than for you. I need courage now in so many ways it can be overwhelming. More times than I care to admit, I find myself worried, afraid, uncertain and incapacitated by the demands of life and recovery. Courage rarely oozes out of me, and at this moment I think I have at the very least, 5 significant areas which demand courage.

As I was early for a meeting with Rick today, I felt like God gave me 10 brief principles that can help inspire courage in our lives.

1. Look at your current situation in light of how can it be used for the ultimate glory of God. Make yourself imagine what life will be like on the other side of your problem and personal war right now, even if it is painfully hopeless at this moment. Make a conscious effort to see you and your family overcoming your current resistance, and enjoying the fruits of your right decisions and relentless courage.

2. Ask God to give you the Courage you need to make these choices in order to fulfill your family's destiny.

3. Face your situation head on. Yes, you must be strategic, and get counsel, but face it head on.

4. Begin to make a habit of prayer and "courage confessions" every day. Begin to search the bible for scriptures about courage and pray them daily over your life. ((you'll find some great ones in Joshua chapter 1, and Deuteronomy chapter 31 of the old testament))

5. Go forward and refuse to go backward any longer. Chances are, if you are endeavoring to overcome an issue in your life, you may find yourself falling, relapsing, or even questioning the significance of it all. You have a choice to get back up on your feet, refuse to give up, and start moving forward, again. To refuse to quit after a fall, is in fact, moving forward.

6. Get mad. The bible is clear on this fact..."Be angry and do not sin!" (Ephesians 4:26) But maybe you need to get angry at your past mistakes. Get angry at some of the injustice you or a loved one may have had to deal with. Maybe you need to get angry at the fact that you, your family, or your marriage is not where it should be. But don't use it to be hostile or resentful toward your family, spouse, or even yourself. Use it to motivate you and inspire you to read the bible, pray, or even write about your pain. Use it as a source of motivation to get up out of bed each day, and pursue Christ. Take small or large steps toward God and His redemptive plan for your life and make anger your servant instead of your handicap.

7. Ask someone to keep you accountable to this courage, and even babysit you if need be. Courage is needed now more than ever, and if we are to prevail against our situations, we simply can't GO IT ALONE.

8. Meet with a therapist, even if it's by phone. Rick Reynolds is neither God the Father, God the Son, nor God the Holy Spirit to me. He is simply a vessel for them to flow through and minister to Jodi and I. However, our marriage wouldn't be where it is now, were it not for Rick's valuable work in our lives. There are times in our lives when we must call upon a called and equipped professional, to address the delicate and emotionally charged issues in our lives. The web site as well as other therapists are here to help you in ways very few can. Utilize them. Call upon them. They just might be a tool from God, that helps to save your marriage and family.

9. Make time daily to pray and meditate on the word of God. Find a great book to read on a biblical issue you enjoy. If you have trouble reading the bible, find a book that will compliment your time in the word, or even purchase a bible study that will lead you down a road of discovery of the bible.

10. Praise and worship your way to courage. I will be the first to tell you that Christian praise and worship has come a long, long, LONG way from the early 80's. If you are not accustomed to some upbeat and engaging Christian music, I assure you it exists. You can find it in Christian book stores, itunes, and all over the Internet. If U2 won't suffice, I'm sure another band will.

WHAT IS GOD SAYING TO YOU TODAY? I bet I don't need to ask if you need courage? It's probably not IF you need courage, but in how many different areas do you need it? I'm also quite sure, that your situations are extremely intimidating. Now more than ever, courage is to be called upon. Not a worldly courage fueled by caffeine, loud music, or time on the treadmill. We need moral courage. Courage fueled and inspired by a Holy God who loves us and wants us to conquer our resistance and opposition, one day at a time, one decision at a time. Courage orchestrated and designed by God Himself, to help sustain us and carry us further and farther than we could ever imagine. Our spouse is not our opposition, nor are our family members, though at times their behavior may lead us to think they are. Our enemy often times is inside of us. From emotions, to misunderstandings, to personal issues and fears, the enemy lives and breathes to cause pain, heartache and depression not just to ourselves, but also every key relationship around us. If you are facing this fear, intimidation, hopelessness or despair, realize this is a set up for courage to flow out of your life and mouth, prompting a refusal to quit or surrender to what has knocked you down. It's one thing to be knocked down. It's an entirely different thing altogether, to stay down. Get up today! Get BACK UP today! Don't be surprised at the battle over your life. The battle that you're facing illustrates you are worth fighting for, and that you have a destiny and a calling that God has given birth, or even re-birth to. You wouldn't be facing this type of opposition if you didn't have an inheritance in Christ!

Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

WE'RE PRAYING FOR YOU AND WE'RE HERE FOR YOU.