‘A man must first be a slave to his aspirations before he can become the master of his destiny ‘
Success is made up of secret codes unknown to the average mind. The path to success is made out of well defined tracks in form of principles that anyone desirous of success can easily follow. Unfortunately, not everyone happens to find that route even though it can accommodate anybody no matter how lowly your background might have been.
One of such land marks we shall examine today is Courage.
Life is full of risks. Sometimes it can be a game of blood. Your desires, like an antelope are surrounded by starving lions, the peering eyes of cynics, the roars of your past failures and the extended claws of demonic forces that can strike fear and give heart failures to the undetermined.
To beat them , you need the steel of courage. You need to close your ears to the threats and cajoles of opposition. You may need to be a fool to the majority and uphold your outright fanaticism to your course.
The case of Caleb presents an interesting reading.
In Joshua 14:6-15, Caleb, the faithful companion of Joshua in the espionage saga came to demand for his right. His right being an inheritance Moses promised him.
A promise which had stood for forty five years. Now at eighty five years, an ordinary man of his age would have been singing his swan song. However , the presence of giants and age factor did not slow him down.
Joshua 14:10b-12 reads:
‘I am this day , fourscore and five years old,as yet I am strong this day
“War , both to go out and to come in. Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day’
In response to this request, Joshua gave him Hebron. Any man that must excel needs courage. You need courage like Daniel, Shedrack, Meshack and Abednego who refused to partake of the king’s enticing meat. You need courage to prefer the heated furnace rather than bowing to the image of Nebuchadnezzar.
You need courage to walk into the lions den like Daniel or to confront and humble four fifty prophets of Baal like Elijah.
KICK THE CHAINS
Courage is a virtue you acquire by yourself. You can’t afford to allow the fetters of fear bind you hands and feet. Fear as a negative emotion, appeals more easily to the basic human instinct of self preservation.
What type of life would we have lived in this twenty first century if men were not daring enough to develop airplanes and other means of communication ?. Fear is a mirage that vanishes at the determined approach of a traveler.
Therefore we can see fear as the power that drives off the ghoul.
You need the beacon of courage to see your way in the forest of human failures. Most failures in life are made, not because they tried and failed, but because they failed to try.
Nobody can dictate success without first beaming on the search light of courage.
According to Abraham Lincoln,
‘My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure ‘
PICK THE PIECES
The general consensus is that every ambition, like the wave must have a time of low ebb. Every vision like the sun , must have a setting time. At such period, courage like the shoulders of Aaron and Hur that upheld Moses is what you need to wade through it.
In times of weariness and distress, friends are the first to fly. When the hob of knowledge knocks like a worn out engine and the rivers of regrets seem poised to drown your dreams, only courage can be a life line you can cling to.
‘My tears have been my meat all day and
Night, while they continually say to me, where is your God’?
Your pillows may be soaked with tears, and your ears red with pains,or you may find yourself drowning in the pool of your tears as your fears have taken up a human face to haunt you,
Don not be in despair. Pick up courage like David.
‘Why art thou cast down oh my soul,
And why art thou disquieted in me?
Hope thou in God?’ Psalm 42:5
A FRIEND SO CLOSE
A courage built on God can never falter. Even if every other thing fails, you can find solace in God that will cause you to rest amidst turmoil.
The soul of courage is confidence and the spirit of confidence is knowledge. Unfounded courage is foolhardiness. The fabric of courage is woven with caution.
Courage is calculating, with feet large enough to walk through the fires of life’s horrors unscathed. You need it to be able to step out of the muddy and murky waters of contentment , of sorrow and failures.
You need courage to enlarge your horizon. It is all you need to put feet to your faith . It is the first human face your invisible vision wears. Your courage is the sculptor or painter that transforms your vision into an artifact worth purchasing by others.
Courage sells your vision otherwise you will die with it.
PST Onyema Duruigbo. LL.B. BL
Senior Pastor
The Gospelhouse Church
Okota Lagos, starts writing a column titled ‘Divine Blogger’ today. Watch out for next week’s article on Sunday.