Tag Archives: courage

Milk and Honey

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This post is part of the Saturday Streams of Consciousness challenge. Today’s challenge is to write about the last thing I put in my fridge. Since I am currently enjoying frothy cappuccino, the last thing I put back in my fridge was milk. I can’t think of milk without thinking of milk and honey and the land God promised to the Israelites.

Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

God promised to lead them to a Land of Milk and Honey. However, once they were almost at the Promised Land, close enough, indeed, to send spies to scout out the land, they had a crisis of faith. Although two of the twelve spies brought back proof of the productivity of the land and urged the people to immediately take possession, the other eight talked fear into them. The people are like giants, they reported, we are like grasshoppers in their eyes and we appeared the same to ourselves. They forgot about God. They forgot about the promise.

They relied, instead, on democracy. “Let’s vote on it,” they said. “After all, the majority of the people can’t be wrong, can they?”

We know what happened as a result of their worldly thinking. God said, in essence, “All right, have it your way. You could have done this the easy way by trusting Me but you have chosen to do it the hard way by trusting yourselves. Maybe the next generation will do better. none of you will see the promised land except Joshua and Caleb, who were willing to trust me.”

The Israelites spent another 38 years in the Wildeness in God’s training camp. Their own resources were totally inadequate. They had to rely on Him. Nevertheless none of that generation got to see the Promised land, except Joshua and Caleb.

How often don’t we rely on popular opinion rather than God’s word? On my own I am not courageous enough to go against the thinking of the masses. After all, the majority has to be right, doesn’t it? The story of Joshua shows us that kind of thinking is a lie. God’s truth is true, no matter how many people don’t believe it. He will keep His promises, no matter how many people don’t trust Him. We need to make our own decisions, not be swayed by others.

God said to Joshua as He says to me, “No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.” (Josh 1:5-7 (NIV)

My Prayer

Father God, You know that I am neither strong nor courageous. Yet my life is hidden in Christ. He has enough strength and courage to work out this fruit in me. Help me to trust You and Your word rather than social media and popular opinion. Amen.

Lockdown Day 30 Valour

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This post is part of Saturday Stream of Consciousness. The prompt for today is to use val in a word. I have chosen to look at valour – a good old fashioned word. According to the dictionary, it means great courage in the face of danger, especially in battle.

I thought this is what we all need in these trying times. Let’s face it, we are in a battle – humans against the virus. A good dose of valour is what we all need. Courage is not the lack of fear. It is doing the right thing in spite of fear. At the moment, doing the right thing means obeying the authorities, doing what God commands, like loving our neighbours, and putting the good of others, the general population, above our own preferences, likes and welfare.

Health workers are at the front-line of the battle, going into danger every day. We salute their acts of valour. The police and the army are also in the trenches, facing not only the power of the enemy, but also friendly fire from disobedient citizens. If a soldier in war time does not obey orders, he is court marshaled or often just shot out of hand.

Joshua 1:6 exhorts us, “Be strong and courageous…” Those words are repeated three times in the rest of the chapter. I like verse 9 best.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Dragon Tale

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Tommy Tucker was five when he found the little dragon, cowering behind his Lego fire truck.

“I’ve run away.” The dragon looked left and right nervously. “They want me to learn to puff fire and I’m scared.”

“I’m scared too,” said Tommy. “I broke my tooth and Mom said I am going to the dentist today. I’m not running away. Mom said I have to be brave.” A tear hovered on his eyelashes.

“Can I come with you? Put me in your pocket and we’ll be brave together.”

And that was how the fire started at the Randburg Medical Centre.

This post is part of Flash Fiction for aspiring writers.

The challenge is to write a story of 100 words based on a picture prompt. This week’s photo was supplied by Yinglan. Thanks Yinglan, and thanks to Priceless Joy who hosts the challenge every week.