Cautious Courage

When I am busy, I mean really busy, with the work of the church, I am reminded of how much I rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to keep me going. I pray continually for courage. The church walks a tightrope of courage where we may fall off on either side. The side to the left is the side of too much boldness. Striking out on our own, ungrounded by Scripture, common sense or both. The forces that would push you off that side are those who say "You are too careful", and "God should protect us", even, "we are not doing enough," or "You need to be more creative." While each of these statements are true, their truth is used to cause us to misstep, to miss important details, to rely on God to take care of careless planning or downright negligence." The voice demanding more can be pride or impatience, leading us away from God's plans and our real work within those plans. The voice that calls for creativity can even lead us to look for meanings in God's Word that are beyond what has been placed in the inspired text.
At the same time the forces that push us to the right side of undue caution are the voices saying "be careful, we might lose." and "We have to focus on our security." They say "All these new projects are too much" and "Lets make do with what we have." Again in the right place all of these statements are true, except that fear of loss can cause us to never try, so we lose by default; Good diligent security can never prevent all possible problems, we do rely on God for His protection and provision of resources. We do need to ensure that we are not overextended, but we cannot become complacent and fail to challenge ourselves to do more than we are comfortable in order to grow. We are to be content with what we have and use each resource as best as we are able; to squeeze every drop of usefulness from every penny, to care for and rest our horses, those who power our work, our volunteers and leaders, and to remain faithful to the basics of our mission and message. But we must also be creative, find ways to extend the use of our resources, find new and exciting, motivating missions for our volunteers and leaders, find ways to cycle work celebration and rest, and find new and effective ways to share our core message and accomplish our mission.

Because of this We have to live with an attitude of Cautious Courage. Cautious Courage is what drives the soldier out of the perimeter while keeping his eyes open for boobytraps, ambush, and unseen danger. Cautious Courage is what leads the pioneer to dare the risks of the open and unknown country for a better life, while choosing the best and safest route. Cautious Courage is what makes us able to be faithful to Jesus' call as he says "Take up your cross and follow me." while knowing the cost. Jesus said in Luke 14:25-33

Now large crowds were going along with Him; and He turned and said to them, 26 " If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27 "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 "For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 "Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' 31 "Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 "Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 "So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.
NASU

When Jesus said these kinds of things many turned away. In another place he offended many and they quit him. But when he asked the disciples if they would leave too. Peter is quoted in John 6:68-69
"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life . 69 "We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God."
NASU


Following Jesus takes Cautious courage as you walk the Shepherd's Path.

In Christ, and on the Shepherd's Path,
Mark