Courageous Patience

Courageous Patience

(Psalm 27:1-14)

Yearly Theme:  “Patience is…”

Series Title:  “Character Traits of Patience”

May 15^th, 2022

Something to think about:

A successful insurance executive was sunbathing on the white sands of his private beach, his wife next to him.  He was 54 years old and on vacation.  Suddenly, he heard a tiny voice crying out for help.  He and his wife saw a small girl floating on a plastic raft about 150 feet from the shore.  She was being swept further out to sea by the current.  The man ran into the surf and finally made his way to the little girl.  He helped her back onto her raft and began to push her towards the beach.  Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain.  He gave the raft one final push and disappeared under the surface.  Rescuers who swam to the 10-year-old girl, got her to shore safely.  A few minutes later, they recovered the limp body of her rescuer; he had died of a heart attack. 

Do you know what really impressed me when I read that story?  It was the man's last words.  As the little girl glided away, he called out, “You've got to help yourself now to get yourself in.  I'm dying.”  He knew.  Yet his last thoughts were for her.  That's courage.[1]

COURAGE noun

• the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.[2]

Courage is a commodity that seems in short supply these days.  It used to be there was chivalry, but due to the complaints of misogyny in our culture, chivalry is dying.  It used to be there was a sense of civility within the culture that elevated, honored, and respected the personhood of individuals even if there were differences of opinion, but now we are so polarized as a nation that even the most innocuous word or phrase can set a person, or a group, off in a violent torrent of verbal, and oftentimes, physical attack.

This shift in society shows a lack of courage within our culture.  And where there’s a lack of courage, cowardly behavior rules the day. 

We have lost our moral footing, and our true identity as a nation and as a people.  Though not everyone in the United States has always believed in GOD, the strength of the nation was rooted in a Judeo/Christian ethic that kept us stable and focused on the most important things.  However, today, instead of fighting the real Enemy (Satan), he has turned us against each other.  Instead of focusing on the real problem within society (sin), we are left to scramble around seeking solutions to medicate the symptoms of a society that has gone off the rails.

So, where do we go from here?  How much further can we drift before we drown?  How can we rescue anyone else in the world when we have lost our own footing?  The solution is not far out of reach.  As we continue our series entitled, “Character Traits of Patience,” we explore the word courage in Psalm 27, written by King David in the Old Testament.  Let’s take a look:

Turn in your Bible to:  Psalm 27:1-14

Here’s the takeaway this morning:

Key Point:  “Wait patiently for the LORD.  Be brave and courageous.”

The solution for our culture to find its footing is to first trust GOD again, to seek Him while He may be found, wait patiently for Him to move, and follow His lead when he does.  Let’s look at each of these elements this morning:

•  in who GOD is.

Psalm 27:1-3 (NLT), ¹ The Lord is my light and my salvation—so why should I be afraid?  The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?  ² When evil people come to devour me, when my enemies and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.  ³ Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid.  Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident.

•  to be in GOD’s presence.

Psalm 27:4-6 (NLT), ⁴ The one thing I ask of the Lord—the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple.  ⁵ For he will conceal me there when troubles come; he will hide me in his sanctuary.  He will place me out of reach on a high rock.  ⁶ Then I will hold my head high above my enemies who surround me.  At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy, singing and praising the Lord with music.

•  patiently on GOD for deliverance.

Psalm 27:14 (NLT), Wait patiently for the Lord.  Be brave and courageous.  Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

Something to take home:

An early 20^th century London newspaper ad by the famous South Pole explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton is said to have read:

“Men wanted for hazardous journey.  Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger.  Safe return doubtful.”

It is said that the response was so overwhelming that Shackleton wrote later, “It seemed as though all the men in Great Britain were determined to accompany us.”  How many have the courage, and are just waiting for the opportunity and a leader with a vision?[3]

And with that, it must be acknowledged that the greatest act of courage this world has ever known is when the Son of God, Jesus Christ, went on His final walk to Jerusalem.  He is the Leader with a vision worth dying for. 

Scripture tells us that even though Jesus knew that He was going to be crucified, He set His face toward Jerusalem.  And He didn't flinch, because He had decided that even though He had to die to reconcile this world back to God, He was going to go through with it.  He went knowing what was ahead.  And let me tell you, it's here that we find the greatest motivator for courage: it's called love.[4]

There is no courage without love.  There is no courage without risk.  There is no courage without patience.  And those who truly have learned to wait patiently for the LORD, are those who are truly brave and courageous.  They are the ones who have found their moral footing and their identity in Christ.  Does this define you?

Key Point:  “Wait patiently for the LORD.  Be brave and courageous.”

[1] Sermon Illustrations on Courage: Free from Hotsermons.” HotSermons.Com. Accessed April 20, 2022. https://hotsermons.com/sermon-illustrations/sermon-illustrations-courage.html.

[2] Dictionary.Com Unabridged Based On The Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

[3] “Sermon Illustrations on Courage: Free from Hotsermons.” HotSermons.Com. Accessed April 20, 2022. https://hotsermons.com/sermon-illustrations/sermon-illustrations-courage.html.

[4] Ibid.