It Takes Courage to Follow God
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When someone we know and/or love commits suicide, we wonder what happened to drive the person to such an end. We may very well ask, “Where did his (or her) hope go?” Hope is something we all desire, and the defining answer for anyone’s hope is the thing or person in whom they have placed their hope.
For non-Christians, hope is a nebulous term – a noun that is like a wish that seems unattainable. Hoping (for many) is wishing for something they can’t do or have but desire it to happen anyway. Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines hope as, “A desire of some good, accompanied with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable.” For Christians, hope is a noun and also an active verb based on a promise.
Why then does hope take courage?
What Is Biblical Hope?
Webster’s 1828 Dictionary follows the first definition of hope with a biblical one, calling hope a noun. “Confidence in a future event; the highest degree of well-founded expectation of good; as a hope founded on God's gracious promises.” What is good? Jesus defined good to the rich young man in Matthew 19:16-22 when He directed him to look at God alone as good (cf. Mark 10:17-22, Luke 18:18-23). So, then, our expectation of good comes from the standard of good — God.
For Christians, we also know hope as a verb because we actively hope in Someone whose promises we believe and cherish. 1 Peter 1:3 gives us a look at a Christ-follower’s hope, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
Bible Verses about Hope
Psalm 20:7 - “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.”
Galatians 5:5 - “For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.”
Ephesians 1:16-18 - “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.”
Colossians 1:3-5 - “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel.”
1 Thessalonians 4:13 - “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.”
Hebrews 10:23 - “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”
1 Timothy 4:10 - “For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe."
Titus 2:13 - “Waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Titus 3:7 - “So that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
Hebrews 6:18 - “So that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.”
1 Peter 1:13 - “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
What Is Worldly Hope?
“I played the numbers! Oh! I hope I win the lottery!” Have you ever heard that? Like winning the lottery, or remaining illness-free for the rest of their lives, worldly hope hinges on a precarious belief that if we hope hard enough, the thing (or person) we wish for will happen. Or if all things fall together by chance, then we will gain what we hope for.
Worldly hope is grasping at the wind and expecting it to stay in our hands (Ecclesiastes 1:14). Solomon knew in whom his hope was sure, and he called worldly pursuits vanity. He summarized life with this succinct statement, “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
Why Does It Take Courage to Follow God?
Courage may be defined as bravery — to remain steadfast in a belief when any and all odds appear hopeless to overcome.
In 1 Corinthians 13:13, the Apostle Paul tells us faith, hope, and love will always abide. The greatest is love, but hope is mixed right in with it and faith. Faith is defined as complete trust in someone or something. The only One in Whom we can place our full trust is our Lord (Joshua 21:45; 2 Corinthians 1:20). It’s true; all the promises of God find their yes in Christ Jesus.
Unregenerated people fear the unknown. Many, many people fear what a life surrendered to Christ is like. They don’t want to give up their idea of freedom. While the Lord is the One who predestines people for salvation (see Romans 8:29; Romans 9), the path toward saying “yes” to His kind invitation is fraught with doubts, “what-ifs,” and the lies of the enemy — Satan and his minions (John 8:44). But if God has chosen you, He will save you.
For believers, hope takes courage when we decide to fully invest in life as a Christ follower. Jesus said to count the cost of what happens when a person becomes His disciple. We are to love Him above all others, even family members. Not too many believers’ entire families are saved, so a division will occur. If we choose others over Jesus, however, we cannot be His disciples (Luke 14:25-33).
Therefore, it indeed takes courage to follow Jesus. But if we accept Him as Savior and Lord, how can we not fully devote our lives to Him? To do otherwise is to remain spiritually immature, missing the myriad blessings of His grace. Christians immerse themselves in Jesus through prayer, His Word, serving and edifying the church, and being His ambassadors by sharing the Gospel (2 Corinthians 5:20). We are to be prepared, as 1 Peter 3:15 says, to “in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” A hopeful Christian is a courageous Christian as they share the Gospel whenever God opens the door with opportunities to speak. Isn’t that every day?
1 Peter 1:21, in speaking about Jesus says, “who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.” That’s sure hope.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Philip Steury
