“BE OF GOOD COURAGE”
Luke 8:47,48; Acts 27:21 (from ‘Paul’) - 22,25,34-36,44
I have been thinking, beloved brethren, that we are in days in which we need courage. There is much to discourage, there is much to occupy us down here and we are in the time when persons have gone back. There are circumstances that enter into the lives of the brethren and much that would in one sense get us down. Our brother has drawn our attention to Ruth; one of the things that Ruth had was courage. Orpah went back, but Ruth had courage and it struck me as thinking about it that we all need this, we need courage.
I thought of this woman who touched the hem of the Lord’s garment. She firstly must have had the desire, but she must also have had courage to do what she did. She realised that in her need she had to make a move, and if we are going to find peace, the only way to find that is by attachment to the Lord Jesus. That is what our brother has brought before us. Ruth realised that her safety and her salvation was to be found amongst the people of God and no matter what it took, she had the courage to take that step. This woman of whom we have read in Luke – the Lord recognised her courage and He said to her, “Be of good courage”. He recognised that she would still need that feature, beloved brethren. She had started on a path and the Lord recognised that in that path she would need courage, so he said “Be of good courage, daughter; thy faith has healed thee; go in peace”. I think the Lord would help us and strengthen our faith. It is really only as we have faith and as we trust in Him that we can have courage. It is not a fleshly matter, it is not bravery in the sense of being some attribute in ourselves; it is a courage that comes from what is inward as we are in closeness and nearness to the Lord. The Lord would simply lay His hand upon you, beloved brother or sister, and how precious these words must have been to this woman; “Be of good courage”. He said, as it were, You have had faith in Me and I am not going to let you go. Then He says, “go in peace”. Some of our brethren are needing that, beloved brethren; we all need this peace and it is found in the Lord Jesus. As we find everything in Him, He would give us the courage for the pathway.
I thought about these exhortations of the apostle Paul. Think of the difficulty of the situation! Paul had known what it was to suffer, he had known what tribulation was, and in a certain sense he suffered these matters alone. But in this situation, I think Paul felt the responsibility not only for himself, but for all those that were with him. Think of these persons on the ship; it tells you their number, “And we were in the ship, all the souls, two hundred and seventy-six” (v.37). You might say this was an exercise in which Paul was not alone; he had these persons with him. We can understand something of what these persons would be thinking. Some knew the Lord but some would not – persons with faith and persons without faith – but Paul felt for each one of them, and what they all needed was courage. I was struck by these references that Paul makes; he says in verse 22, “And now I exhort you to be of good courage, for there shall be no loss at all of life of any of you, only of the ship”. In his links with the Lord, Paul was close to Him, and there was no doubt about Paul’s faith, the assurance that he had in his own soul. But then there were others, others who were not as sure, and Paul brings in this word, “I exhort you to be of good courage”.
We can rely on the Lord’s blessing as we are in association with Him and too, as we have been reminded recently, as we desire to cleave to Paul’s words and Paul’s teaching. He says in verse 25 “Wherefore be of good courage, men, for I believe God that thus it shall be, as it has been said to me”. Ministry comes to us and it confirms us. We were conscious of that over the past weekend, that the Lord is good to us, He provides living ministry through His own word. That would strengthen us and confirm us so that we might have this courage. The Lord has not promised us an easy path but He has promised that He will be with us in it. How precious that is.
And then Paul says, “Wherefore I exhort you to partake of food, for this has to do with your safety; for not a hair from the head of any one of you shall perish. And, having said these things and taken a loaf, he gave thanks to God before all, and having broken it began to eat”. What was the result? You might say, in its application, they partook of spiritual food, they listened to Paul; it says “And all taking courage, themselves also took food”.
I feel measured about what I can say, but I think that there is a need for courage at the present time, to be in nearness to the Lord Jesus and prove His own touch, His own words. He said to the woman “Be of good courage”; what assurance that must have given to that dear woman’s soul. But then you find that, as we feed on Christ, we develop the spiritual constitution for anything that may come in, so that we might have courage to continue.
May we be encouraged by these few thoughts, beloved brethren, and may the Lord bless the word.
Given at a meeting for ministry, Glasgow
10 March 2020
Trevor R Campbell