Victory Is Yours: Overcome Life’s Challenges God's Wayნიმუში

Day 5: Ready for Action

"From ancient times a decline in courage has been considered the beginning of the end.” That’s what Nobel Prize winner and political prisoner Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn warned Harvard graduates in a commencement address years ago.

Courage isn’t easy to come by. Especially in times like ours, when people of faith are battling increasing opposition from all sides: our culture, our classrooms, the media, even sometimes from the person sitting beside us in the pew. Jesus told us to expect it: “If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well” (John 15:20). He spoke of not if but “when the people hate you, and when they exclude you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man” (Luke 6:22). Paul wrote, “Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12 NIV). And the pressure is only going to ramp up as Christ’s return draws nearer. Paul warned that in the last days, people will be arrogant, malicious, treacherous, reckless, brutal, and haters of good and of God (2 Timothy 3:1-4).

In the face of all that, fewer people will have courage. Fewer will elect to stand up for what is righteous and true. But that’s what being committed to the cause of Christ requires. You’ve been called to active duty, not passive duty. You’ve been forewarned so you can prepare your mind for action and take proper action when the time for action comes.

It sounds like Civil War colonel Joshua Chamberlain was prepared in just that way when his moment of decision came. History records that at the Battle of Gettysburg, the scholarly Chamberlain, who had not only attended seminary but pored over every military book and manual he could find, decided to attack the Confederate army with bayonets rather than retreating, even though his men were vastly outnumbered and out of ammunition. The strategy proved successful, and his decision delivered a Union victory in one of the Civil War’s most crucial battles.

What was the colonel’s take on that moment afterward? Simply this: “I had deep within me the inability to do nothing.” I pray God gives each of us that same resolve when our day of opposition comes.

Think About It: You can’t overcome without opposition. Victory means there is a battle somewhere. Therefore, to experience victory, we must fight the battle.