The Confident Woman: Start Today Living Boldly and Without Fear (26 page)

In the beginning of my ministry, God gave me a dream. In the dream, I was driving down a highway and I noticed cars pulling off. Some were parking and others were turning around to go back where they came from. I assumed there must be trouble up ahead but could not see what it was. As I boldly continued to drive forward I saw a bridge with water from the river below starting to flow across it. I realized that the people in the cars were afraid they might get hurt or get somewhere and not be able to get back. My dream ended with me sitting in my car looking first at the water-covered bridge, back where I had been, and to the side of the road, trying to decide if I should park, retreat or keep moving forward. Then I woke up.

God used that dream to show me that there will always be opposition when pressing toward a goal. There will always be opportunity to park and go no farther or turn around and give up. It was up to me to decide each time if I would give up or go on. That dream has helped me many times to press on when difficulties came and I was tempted to quit. I have decided that even though I don’t always do everything right, and I may not always get the result that I hope for, I will never quit! Determination will get you a lot farther than talent. So if you feel you lack in talent, take heart. All you need to win in life is more determination than anyone else you know.

Chapter Sixteen

BECOME A COURAGEOUS WOMAN

A
ll of us, at one time or another, wish we had more courage. Think about the courage that Jochebed, the mother of Moses, showed. She defied Pharoah’s order to kill all of the Hebrew boys and hid her son for three months before finally placing him in a basket, praying and trusting that God would provide. Her daughter, Miriam, exhibited great courage when she watched her little brother’s makeshift boat float right to Pharoah’s daughter. Instead of hiding, or running away, she approached the Princess with boldness and offered to get a Hebrew nurse (Moses’ mother) to help care for the child.

Courage means to be brave, bold, and adventurous. It’s a quality like that in Jochebed and Miriam’s example that allows a person to encounter danger and difficulty with firmness and resolve.

We all need courage. Courage comes from God while fear is what Satan tries to give us. I was always afraid until I developed a strong relationship with God. I pretended that I wasn’t afraid, but I was.

In the Bible we see the phrase “take courage.” Courage is available, the same way fear is, but we can choose to reject fear and take courage.

I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]
(John 16:33)

If you skipped over the Scripture just now, go back and read it. Look at each word and meditate on it so that you get the full meaning of what Jesus is saying. He is telling us that during our lives we will have hard times, trials, and things that frustrate us, but we don’t have to let worry or depression be part of it because He has given us courage (if we will take it), confidence, and assurance. No matter what comes against us, if we have confidence that we can make it through, it won’t bother us that much. It isn’t really our problems that make us unhappy; it is how we respond to them.

When trials and tribulations come, Satan will offer fear but God offers faith, courage and confidence. Which one are you receiving? The answer to this question may reveal the root of many frustrations.

The book of Job says that what we fear comes upon us (Job 3:25). That is a sobering thought. Satan offers fear, and if we take it and meditate on it and talk about it long enough we give it creative power.

Also, notice what else Jesus said in the above passage from John 16:33: He says “be confident.” Notice that He did not say, “feel confident.” As I have said repeatedly in this book, we can choose to be confident, even if we don’t feel confident at all. Start today choosing to be confident in every situation and you will begin driving fear back to Hades where it came from. When Satan tries to give you fear, give it back to him. You wouldn’t drink poison if someone offered it to you, would you? Then stop taking fear and start choosing courage.

When I think of discouragement, I think of an oppressive spirit, one that extinguishes courage and deprives us of the confidence God wants us to have. Discouragement is certainly not from God, so it must be another one of the devil’s offerings. God gives courage, the devil gives dis-courage. He may try to discourage us through repeated trials or aggravations. He tries to discourage us through people who tear us down instead of building us up. Negative people can discourage us.

Today I heard about a 42-year-old man with a family who went to the doctor with a backache and discovered he had cancer in several places in his body. His spirit remained “up” and he never lost courage until one doctor looked at him and said, “There is no hope.” What a stupid thing to say. Now, I realize that legally a doctor has to tell a patient the true facts, but she could have said it in a way that wasn’t quite so crude. Besides, there is always hope. There are no hopeless cases when a person has God on their side.

Don’t spend time with people who tear you down and give you the worst case scenario about everything. It is much easier to stand in a chair and have someone pull you down then for you to pull that person up to stand with you. We must constantly be on our guard against discouragement.

The Duke of Wellington, the British military leader who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, was not an easy man to serve under. He was brilliant, demanding, and not one to shower his subordinates with compliments. Yet even Wellington realized that his methods left something to be desired. In his old age a young lady asked him what, if anything, he would do differently if he had his life to live over again. Wellington thought for a moment, and then replied. “I’d give more praise,” he said.
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If a farmer plants tomato seeds, he will get a harvest of tomatoes. If we plant encouragement in the lives of other people, we will reap a harvest of encouragement in our own.

All of us need encouragement. It is a tool that increases our confidence and inspires us to act with courage, spirit or strength. That is what we need! We don’t need anyone around to discourage us . . . instead we need “encouragers” in our life. The Bible instructs us to encourage and edify one another.

Therefore encourage [admonish, exhort] one another and edify [strengthen and build up] one another . . .
(I Thessalonians 5:11)

Because we all encounter difficulty while we are running our race and trying to reach our goals, we all need encouragement. The more we get, the easier it is to stay on track and avoid wasting days or weeks in depression and despair. One of the best ways I know to get something I want or need is to give some of it away. God’s Word teaches us to sow and then we shall reap. If a farmer plants tomato seeds, he will get a harvest of tomatoes. If we plant encouragement in the lives of other people, we will reap a harvest of encouragement in our own.

What we make happen for someone else, God will make happen for us. Do you sometimes find yourself wishing you had more encouragement, maybe from your family, or your friends, or your boss? But how often do you encourage others? If you’re not sure, then make an extra effort right away. You can be the channel that God uses to keep someone confidently pressing toward success rather than giving up. Did you know that the Holy Spirit is called The Encourager? The Greek word
parakletos
is translated as the word Holy Spirit and includes comfort, edification and encouragement as part of its definition. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus sent us a Comforter, a Helper, a Strengthener, an Edifier, and an Encourager and He sent Him to be in close fellowship with us. He lives inside of those who are believers in Jesus Christ, and you cannot get much closer than that. Let God encourage you through His Spirit. He will never tell you that you’re not going to make it. He will never tell you that your case is hopeless.

God corrects and chastises us when we need it, but He also encourages us along the way. This is how we should raise our children. As a matter of fact, Paul said in his letter to the Colossians that fathers were not to place undue and unnecessary chastisement on their children, lest it discourage them, make them feel inferior, frustrate them and break their spirits (Colossians 3:21). If God gives earthly fathers that instruction, then He certainly will be no different toward His children.

So please remember that when discouragement comes from any source, that it isn’t God sending it your way! Immediately reject it and if you have no other source of encouragement, then do what David did. The Bible says that he encouraged himself in the Lord. When you feel yourself starting to lose courage, talk to yourself! Tell yourself that you have made it through difficulties in the past and you will make it again. Remind yourself of past victories. Make a list of your blessings and read them out loud anytime you feel yourself starting to sink emotionally.

One of the ways you can encourage yourself is to read stories of uncommon courage. When you see what others have done, it encourages you that you can do whatever you need to do.

We are inspired by people with uncommon courage. They help bring the best out of us. When we hear the stories of others, it inspires and encourages us to do the same. Here is a collection of stories we can gain insight from. I hope they minister to you as much as they ministered to me.

In the days of war a Japanese policeman who had absolute power said that within three days everyone in a certain Formosan mountain village were required to come to the police station and swear against Christianity, or his hands and feet would be tied together, he would be weighed down with stones and thrown from the high bridge into the rushing river below.

The Christians met at midnight to decide what to do. Some said, “We’ll have to give it up. We can’t be Christians now. He will surely kill us.”

Then a young boy stood up. “But don’t you remember that Jesus said not to be afraid of those who can only kill the body, but to be afraid of those who kill body and soul? If he kills us, it will only be our bodies. Our souls will go to be with Jesus.” They all said, “That is true.” When the vote was taken, every hand was raised—all voted to die. The next day the policeman laughed cruelly, and said, “Tomorrow you die.”

Now the policeman liked to fish, and waded out into the river. A rock or tree in the current struck his leg and broke it. While the mountain people were praying, a messenger rushed in, and said, “The man who was to kill you tomorrow has been drowned in the river.”
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Was it a coincidence? I don’t think so. When the village people chose boldness over fear, their faith in God opened a door for His deliverance. It is just like God to drown the enemy in the same river he planned to drown them in. Satan’s plans backfire on him when we keep moving in faith and confidence.

A colonel of the Seventh Rhode Island Regiment, in the War Between the States, had become very unpopular with his men. The report reached him that in the next engagement his own regiment would look for opportunities to shoot him. When he heard that, he gave orders for the men to march out for the cleaning of their muskets; and taking position on top of a bank of clay and facing the regiment, he gave the order “Ready! Aim! Fire!” Any man could have killed him without the slightest risk of discovery; but every soldier admired his superb courage, and whoever was disposed to kill him refrained.
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This colonel could have lived in tormenting fear that at any time one of his men might shoot him. Instead, he chose to confront the threat head on and once again we see that courage wins.

We should not be afraid of threats. Satan likes to intimidate people by threatening them with thoughts of bad things to come. If we face threats boldly, quite often the enemy backs down. Bullies can only bully those who won’t confront them. No matter what threatens us it can never separate us from the love of God.

A great woman doesn’t allow fear to be her master. She courageously looks it in the face and faces it down with God by her side.

If there’s anything that sticks with you after you put this book down, please remember this: Don’t live in fear of what may happen. Maybe you have heard of a threat of a layoff at work, or a stock market decline, or you may have gotten a bad report from the doctor. All these things can be subject to change. Without a moment’s notice God can change anything in our circumstances! Remain hopeful and don’t let fear rule. Confront fear and you will find it isn’t as powerful as you thought it was. Remember, courage is not the absence of fear, but action in the presence of it. There is no such thing as courage where fear is not present. A great woman doesn’t allow fear to be her master. She courageously looks it in the face and stares it down with God by her side.