Day 12: Courage

"Be strong. Take courage. Don't be intimidated. Don't give them a second thought because God, your God, is striding ahead of you. He's right there with you. He won't let you down; he won't leave you." Deuteronomy 31:6 The Message

"Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong." I Corinthians 16:13 NIV

As I was on biblegateway.com looking for verses on courage tonight, I noticed there are over 15 instances where the words "be strong, take courage" are used together. Tonight we had a Young Life committee meeting and afterwards we were talking about the access kids today have to temptation today via the Internet. It reminded me what strength it takes to resist temptation. Great courage is required to do the right thing. It is not enough for us to insure our children know and understand truth, we must pray that they are also equipped with the strength and courage to actually follow through with what the Spirit leads them to do (or abstain from).

Lord, give my children courage to follow you when it is scary. Please help my boys grow to be men of valor, and my daughter full of godly spunk. Fortify them with strength to do what is right, even if everyone else is doing the wrong thing. Be their backbone. Give them courage to stand for You, Lord. Remind them that all things are possible for you--and that they are not in the fight alone.