A WORD FOR TODAY, December 12, 2025
Peggy Hoppes
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Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, December 12, 2025
“Be strong and courageous; for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you. Don’t turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it; for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success. Haven’t I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be dismayed, for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:6-9, WEB
I saw a story about four teenage boys who became heroes. They were surfing the waves along a shoreline when they heard the cries of two brothers who were struggling because they were caught in the currents of the ocean. The surfers knew that they had to go help or the boys would drown. One paddled to shore to get someone to call 911, and the other three went directly to the brothers. The younger brother was easily lifted onto a surfboard but the older brother was much larger and was very afraid; he was desperate and grasping for anything that might save him. This made him dangerous.
The fourth surfer returned to the group, and they calmed the brother down enough to get him on a board. The paramedics were already on the beach when the four surfers worked their way through the waves to the shore. The paramedics said that they usually arrive too late to save victims like those brothers, but thanks to the speedy response by the surfers, they lived. One teenager said that they were afraid, but they didn’t have time to think about it. They did what needed to be done, and it saved two lives.
I’ve noticed that there is focus these days on being brave. I think it began with the Disney movie “Brave” that came out a few years ago, but there are a number of publications centered in helping young people become brave. I am sure some of those books were written because of the fear we experience with the pandemic of illness and violence. We are encouraged to be brave, but I wonder if perhaps it is more important to be courageous.
Bravery and courage might seem like the same thing, but I found this on the Internet, “Bravery is the ability to confront something painful or difficult or dangerous without any fear. It’s a quality, not a state of mind; it doesn’t need a cause to awaken it. Someone is brave - full stop. To the person who has it, it’s effortless; it’s eating a caterpillar on the playground because a friend dares you to, without a second thought. It’s jumping from the highest diving board without any hesitation.” I know people who are brave. It is not always a positive quality in some people because it leads to unnecessary risk.
The article continued, “Courage, on the other hand, is the ability to confront something painful or difficult or dangerous despite any fear. It’s not a quality, but a choice; a person feels the fear or pain or danger, but chooses to persevere anyway. Unlike bravery, courage is driven by a cause; the courageous person believes that cause is worth standing up and fighting for, despite all the clear reasons not to. It takes a great effort, because what’s on the other end merits it.”
I can’t be described as brave. I would rather hide my head in the sand like an ostrich than face something that makes me uncomfortable. The writer of the article compared the roots of the two words. “Brave” comes from the Italian word “bravo” which means “bold.” Courage, however, is from the French word that means “heart” which is “coeur.”
It will never be effortless for me to be bold, but I can be courageous. I can face painful or difficult situations despite my fear. There might be some heroes who are brave, but I imagine that most of them are more like those teenagers on that day in the ocean. There was fear, but they were also courageous. They were willing to face the danger because they knew that the outcome was worth their effort. We need more courage in the world today, not bravery.
God called Joshua to do something and promised He would be with him always. When He gives a command, He provides all we need to obey. When He sends us into the world to preach the Gospel, He provides the voice and the ears to hear. It does not matter who walks in front of us, who we follow through life. God is with each of us in the here and now, giving us His grace that we might serve according to our own gifts and abilities. We might not need the courage to save drowning brothers from the ocean, but we can have the heart save a drowning sinner with God’s mercy and forgiveness.
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