“Now therefore, give me this mountain . . . It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.”

— Joshua 14:12

Suppose, as you looked for a job, you came across this ad in the classifieds: “Heroes wanted. No cowards need apply.” Would you apply for that job? Are you a hero?

Most of us have never even considered this matter, but we should, because we desperately need heroes in the army of God. Over and over in Scripture, we read of valiant, mighty men and women, and we’re encouraged to follow their examples. The Bible exhorts us to endure hardship as good soldiers of Christ. It admonishes, “Fear not,” “Be not afraid,” “Be of good courage,” “Fear not the face of men.” Such courage is the mark of a hero.

Why do we need so much courage? Because Jesus has commissioned us as His soldiers to witness for Him. We have the privilege of serving as Christ’s ambassadors to this dying world, sharing the Good News of what Jesus can do for people.

Yet tragically, many people who profess to be Christians have gone AWOL (Absent Without Leave) in this regard. The battle for lost souls rages on, but many of us hide in our own secure corners of the world, leaving the lost vulnerable to the enemy.

This should not be true of the soldiers in Christ’s army. After all, our leader, Christ, is the greatest hero Who ever lived. Not only did He single-handedly take on all the hosts of mankind, an apostate Jewry, a hostile heathenism, and His own friends who forsook Him, but He also took on the forces of death, Hell, Satan, and the demons, overcoming them one and all. And as God’s soldiers, we have Christ’s death-defeating power on our side. We need not fear as we share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As we face the fray, Jesus Christ heats the heart and fuses the shifting sands into rock, making heroes out of cowards. Christ stands ready to do that for each of us.

Will you allow Christ to grant you His courage today? If you do, be a faithful soldier, using that courage to share Christ’s good news with someone who desperately needs to hear it.

“… Brethren, we are treading where our Captain trod …”
Onward Christian Soldiers (Hymn)