LaTan Roland Murphy - Courageous Women of the Bible: Leaving Behind Fear and Insecurity for a Life of Confidence and Freedom

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.

Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV

T he first thing you need to know about me is that I am a self-proclaimed chicken, often fearful, and seldom courageous. Courage, Ive discovered through the years, is something we all need, but all lack, from time to time. Courage whispers we are enough when fear of failure tells us otherwise. Courage gives us the desire to try. It urges us to get up when fear says sit down.

Few of us realize our need for courage until we face a daunting life situation. While fear paralyzes, courage mobilizes beyond our circumstanceslike a best friend telling us we can keep going. We all know courage is tested most when life gets hard. Yet it comes as we choose to live standing strong, pressing into our faith, and it sees us through every difficult moment you and I face.

Because I needed courage, I decided to write a book that hopefully would encourage other women toowomen who also need courage. Thats what started this journey to find courage in the tremendous stories of the Bible that show women displaying this essential quality. There are a few things I learned about courage that I want to pass along to you for the days you need more of it.

Courage advances us into opportunities we would otherwise shrink back from and avoid.

Courage compels us to use gifts otherwise left on the shelf: to write the book, sing the song, stick with the diet, run the race, start a new business. Courage helps us push through to the finish line.

Every woman needs courage because it transcends every circumstance of our busy, jam-packed lives. And it comes as we faithfully face our unknowns. Courage answers with grit when questions born of insecurity invade: Will I get the job? And if I do, will I be good at it? Am I capable of being a good wife, even though I had no strong role models to teach me how? Will I beat cancer? Will I, always the outcast, ever fit in? When our minds are overloaded with information and our hearts overwhelmed by fear, courage comes to the rescue, overcoming anxiety about our childrens futures, our own futures, fear of aging, financial hardships, and even death.

The women of the Bible teach us by example how to courageously live, love, and face life victoriously. We need Gods women to teach us how to keep going, particularly when the men in our lives fail to lead. It is women like the widow with two coins who encourage me to courageously givebeyond my resourcesand prove God is able. And I need women like the woman with the issue of blood to teach me how to bravely come to Jesus when I feel most unclean or rejected.

As a young girl, I had no idea how much I would need Jesus and all He faithfully provides. In choosing Him, I literally chose courage . As He lovingly nudged my heart to come to Him, I experienced my first taste of the beautiful courage He offers those who trust His omnipotent power. Since that warm summer night, a few things have become very clear.

Courage comes as we point our feet toward the path leading to obedient living.

When lifes circumstances have overwhelmed mepresenting me with unexpected or stressful changes beyond my controlmy knees have buckled, many times over. In times like these, Im grateful for courageous women who surrounded me, lifted me up, and pointed me in the right direction when I didnt know what to say, how to respond, or how to pray. Sometimes, I still feel like the little girl who fell to her knees weeping into the sawdust at a childrens camp in Georgiahot tears gushing from my eight-year-old green eyes. Although I could not see Jesus, I felt His love drawing memagnetically giving me courage to keep walkingdown the long aisle toward the altar to receive him.