CS Lewis once said, “Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.”  It takes courage to get up in the morning and go outside.  It take courage every day of our lives, to live, to serve, to forgive, to show grace.  Courage is a great, noble, and scary thing.

Thankful, courage is not something that we have to supply on our own. But it’s something that God, through His grace, can grant us.  Listen to what we are told today in 2 Timothy 1: 6-7:

6 For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; 7 for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.

We are told that God has not given us a spirit of cowardice.  We are given, through the Holy Spirit, a spirit of love and self-discipline.

I was thinking about fear, love, and self-discipline.  What I thought about as I pondered these concepts is this.  Fear is reactive.  Love and self-discipline are proactive.  Fear is a response to something else.  Love and self-discipline, they are a choice.

That’s why we are not given a spirit of fear.  But we are given this spirit of love.  Of self-discipline. Of God’s power.  We don’t have to be afraid today.  We have power.  We can love. And we can have self-discipline.

It comes down to what way we choose to walk today. Do we choose to walk in the way of fear?  Do we choose to walk in a way that is reactive to things that are happening? That sees danger or worry behind every shadow?

Or do we choose to live in the power that God has given us?  God is at work.  God is moving. God is not done.  God does not leave nor forsake us.

We are Christians. We are children of God. We are followers of the resurrected Lord. We do not have to be afraid.  We do not have to worry. We do not have to cower.  We can live with power. With love. With self-disciple.

We do not have to be afraid.

Today, do not live by fear.  Live by the Spirit that God has given you.  Live in His power.

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