Day 11 Indwelled by God

Courage Day 1:
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

Courage is the strength to withstand fear. I have never read the story of Esther but I can't wait to now. Today we read about how Esther, an orphan who hid her Jewish heritage & won a beauty contest to become queen, had to withstand her fears to save her people.
She found her courage in 3 ways:
1. She used her fear to find her faith.
2. She prepared herself.
3. She shifted the focus of concern from herself to others.

Lately I had been thinking I have used my fear to find my faith and I was kind of feeling guilty about it until I read this. I was looking at it in the wrong way. He wants us to come to him for courage even if we have blown it because we tried to go it alone first and now are coming to him out of fear. At least we came! Letting your fear direct you to God is a good thing!!

We used Psalm 34:4-7 in a chart where we broke down each verse with what we are suppose to do and what God will do in response.
Example was
v 4: I seek the Lord He answers and delivers me from all my fears.

I wrote:

v 5: Look to Him He will wipe the shame from my face.

v 6: Call on Him He will save me.

v 7: Fear Him He will deliver me.

Dear Lord; I need courage. Help me to seek you instead of seeking escape. Help me to remember you are my greatest source of courage. In Jesus name Amen.