A Good Word - Courage
by Gary Johnson
Every man and woman who serves in our armed forces is required to go through boot camp, also known as basic training. All five branches of our nation’s military have this requirement. Whether individuals serve in the Navy, Army, Marines, Air Force or Coast Guard, they must complete boot camp. For every raw recruit, boot camp is a new reality, and as part of that new reality, they make a new “best friend” known as the drill instructor or drill sergeant, who gives orders, sometimes barking them out one after another. When people complete their boot camp experience, they’re different. They are more physically fit, more emotionally stirred, and more mentally prepared for their mission – even if that means encountering the enemy. Boot camp—has been and always will be—a transforming experience, reshaping a person’s life.
Why all this talk about boot camp? The answer is a simple one. Boot camp existed long before our military ever came into existence, and those who go through boot camp are not limited to those who are in the military. Everyone goes through a boot camp. We learn what this looks like from a man named Elijah.
His story begins in 1 Kings 17:1, when God recruited him to go and confront the evil King Ahab, telling him there would be no “dew nor rain in the next few years.” No rain meant no crops, which meant no food. After delivering the bad news to a bad king, Elijah was told by God to go to a brook in the Kerith Ravine, where God would feed him (vv. 2-6). While Elijah drank from the brook, God commanded the ravens to take him bread and meat, both in the morning and evening. This was Elijah’s boot camp. In this difficult place, Elijah learned to trust God.
And once the brook dried up because of no rain, God commanded Elijah to go to Zarephath in Sidon, where a widow would feed him (vv. 7-9), where once again, Elijah had to put into practice what he had learned in his boot camp. He chose to trust God.
What does this have to do with us? Everything. Life, for many people, is hard. Some people are grieving the loss of a loved one to COVID, to cancer or some other cause; while others grieve the loss of jobs, businesses, a marriage and more. To survive such losses, believers anchor their trust in God, and by doing so, they find courage to press on – one day at a time.
On the other side of the globe, war is raging in Ukraine. This unjust war has claimed the lives of innocent victims of all ages, driven some 1 million people (as of this writing, note below) from their home and country and caused untold damage to property. As Ukrainian believers trust God from moment to moment, they find courage to press forward.
Have you ever experienced a boot camp? I’m not referring to basic training in the military, but to basic training in our faith as believers, a boot camp like Elijah’s. Each of us must learn to trust God if we are to courageously endure hard times. Even when Elijah panicked and ran from Jezebel’s death threat (1 Kings 19), God met him and strengthened him with newfound courage.
Don’t quake (in fear). God is with us and saves us (Zephaniah 3:17).
Don’t question (to an unhealthy degree). After all, God uses all things for His glory and our good (Romans 8:28).
Don’t quit. The Apostle Paul “fought the good fight, finished the race and kept the faith” (2 Tim 4:7-8), and so can we.
When we learn to trust in God, we have courage to press on.
Note regarding refugees: https://www.wsj.com/articles/at-ukrainian-border-overwhelmed-guards-volunteers-confront-exodus-of-refugees-fleeing-war-11646320646
