Courageous Bride

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Deuteronomy 31:6

I told you about my personal word about this Scripture in the devotion “Courageous.” I also believe this is a word for the bride of Christ. The world is entering into unknown days. On the evening news last night, they were doing a story on the economy. The story focused on the conversations in the workplace, the marketplace, and the coffee shops. People want to talk about what is happening in our world today. People are e-mailing me telling me that they are afraid. I hear the Christian men and fathers at school talking about the troubled times ahead and wondering how they will protect and provide for their families. People want to talk about the layoffs and their job hunting. People are wondering what will happen with this global economic crisis? How far into the crisis are we going to go? How bad will it get?

The bride of Christ is also entering into unknown days. I believe God is sending a message to His people to not quiver in fear but to be strong in Him and to face these days with courage. Ambrose Redmoon said, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.” Courage is being willing to face danger. We cannot cower in the corners, wring our hands, and worry over the state of our world. There is a difference between recognizing that our world is in trouble and having anxiety over the days to come. Anxiety is merely being upset that we are not in control. The only thing that we can control is how close we are to God.

God says that He will never leave us nor forsake us. He is with us in this crisis, my friend. This crisis did not take Him by surprise. He didn’t say from His throne room in heaven where the beasts are flying around saying, “Holy, holy, holy,” day and night something like “Oops, I didn’t see that one coming.” He is not going to bail out on us.

Yes, we need to be emotionally, physically, and mentally prepared. However, more importantly, we need to be spiritually prepared. A couple of years ago God told me to start a prayer time called the uprising because so many of us could feel a sudden increase in intensity of our time. Once again, my friend, I am sending a message to God’s people to increase their prayers. We must be spiritually prepared. Our anemic prayer lives must change. The way to be courageous is through being in constant communication with our Commander so let’s not delay any longer. Join me in prayer.

Pray with me: Almighty God, Your bride is in deep need of godly courage. We struggle with our fear. The giant problems of our nation seem overpowering. Yet, Lord, what we truly need is You. Your bride has allowed others to come between us. We have worshiped other gods. We have fallen into idolatry. We repent of our sins. Shed light on the lies that we have believed.

Your bride is being prepared. Through these hard days, we pray for Your bride to be awakened to the intense needs of others. When opportunities arise to meet others’ physical needs, please use it as a doorway to meet their spiritual needs. Reveal Yourself to them in their desperation. May we react differently than unbelievers during these unknown days. Give us the courage to believe You. May we put all of our hope in You.

Lord, show us how we are to prepare physically and mentally for these days. Show us the matters where we are to be like Moses and rely on Your daily provision. Show us the matters where we are to be like Joseph and prepare so that many can be saved. Give us the discernment to know the difference.

Since we know things will only get worse until You come again, come quickly, Lord Jesus, Come! It’s in the Name above all names, in Jesus’ Name, Yeshua’s Name, I pray. Amen.