Faith and Courage

 Having faith requires courage. Sometimes in our lives, walking in the dark takes courage. Sometimes we need the courage to travel on paths we have not trod before. In our life, we need the courage to act in situations where there is no earthly possibility of an action being taken. Sometimes we need the courage to yield everything to God when we want to keep everything to ourselves. In Hebrews, the apostle Paul talks about the life of faith, and Paul tells us in Hebrews 11:13 the Old Testament patriarchs lived by faith. All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.  Living by faith takes a form of courage because when we live by faith we extend ourselves outward by trusting in God. Living by faith is what we must do. We live by breathing and in the same way, we must courageously live by faith because faith keeps us alive in our spirit. We live by eating food and drinking water and in the same way, we must courageously live by faith because our faith gives our spiritual nourishment. We live by residing or seeking shelter and in the same way, we must courageously live by faith because our faith shelters us from the storms of life.