A Lion's Heart

Then even the bravest soldier, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will melt with fear, for all Israel knows that your father is a fighter and that those with him are brave” 2 Samuel 17:10

    My dog has the heart of a lion. If someone comes to the door, you would think he is going to tear them limb from limb. In the house he is ferocious. But outside the house, out in the world, he is a great big coward, fearful and skittish of everything around him. 

   I think I am sometimes like that. When in my element, when there is no illness flaring or nothing out of sorts with my health, then faith and boldness is not a problem. But when my affliction is screaming for attention, the pain rising and the illness growing worse, it can take the courage right out of me.

    Faith is easy on sunny days when a gentle breeze is blowing. Yet when the storm arrives and the wind is howling, finding faith can become a great challenge. Illness can rob us of our faith and courage, it can steal the strength right out of us.

    We need inner peace and strength. We need courage that comes not from the situation on the outside, but from the Spirit on the inside. We need a holy boldness, and a supernatural strength derived from trusting God.

    Perhaps you find your faith waning as your illness is rising. When the pain climbs up, your courage may drop down. We are all human and subject to human reactions to pain and suffering. And if there was no resource from above and from within, it would be hard to survive our suffering.

    Jesus calms our inner storms and changes our outside troubles. If my little dog only realized I would never let anything or anyone harm him, he would not be scared of his shadow when outside of his comfortable lodgings. Similarly, if we only realized no matter the noise and disturbance of our affliction, our Lord is watching over us and will protect us. We can have courage and be bold even when we are feeling our worst.

    Prayer: Dear Lord, we are too often beset by fears. Deliver us from fear and strengthen our trust in You. Amen.