Heb. 10:35: Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. (KJV)
I believe 2010 will be the year of Courage. Courage is not something that can be borrowed or bought. It is an inward behavior which creates the conclusion for your future actions. It is a predetermined action to any circumstance. It comes from confidence in God and in yourself--yes, in God and in yourself! Courage is also an action of faith. Faith is a spiritual confidence that God really is telling us the truth and that we can pull it off. So you see, courage is the product of confidence, and confidence is the product of faith, and with faith all things are possible. Let's explore this further.
Do you remember the lion in the movie "The Wizard of Oz"? In the beginning he was very fearful and he lacked confidence in himself. The cowardly lion spoke these famous words: "Courage! What makes a king out of a slave? Courage! What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage! What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist, or the dusky dusk? What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage! What makes the sphinx the seventh wonder? Courage! What makes the dawn come up like thunder? Courage! What makes the Hottentot so hot? What puts the "ape" in apricot? What have they got that I ain't got?"
He was created to be the King of the Forest: one who rules with great courage and authority. Yet, his problem was that he had misappropriated his confidence. He had placed confidence in his past and not in his future. He had placed his confidence in fear and failure, instead of who he really was to become. The lack of confidence equals fear; but confidence in abundance equals courage. Can you identify with the lion's character? Fear is not of God so why should you be in agreement with this creative power? Yes, creative power--fear is a creative power! Have you ever considered this: that fear has creative power? Of course it does. It will guide every step of your life if you live in agreement with its influence. Just as the lion agreed with fear, so do you and I at times. The more he focused on failure, the more fear he created. The lion's greatest desire was to have courage to rule and reign. He had this great need to be all that he was created to be; it just seemed there was an unseen force that hindered him from achieving this crescendo in his life.
Fear caused the lion to feel inadequate. It even caused him to give himself a new name: he went from the "King of the Forest" to the "Cowardly Lion". Have you yielded to this influence of fear and given yourself a new internal name? Your internal name is the one you live unto. It is the name to which you respond. "Bad circumstance of life" was the evidence the lion used to give himself his new name. He saw himself as the "Cowardly Lion" so he lived unto this name. He constantly gave testimony to his friends that this was who he was. Those who opposed him also gave the report of his fear and cowardly ways. Can you see how you can agree with the wrong information and create a false reality? A false reality, yes; but a reality just the same. It is in this greenhouse of false reality where the bad information breeds and grows. Pretty soon you have a harvest of fruit that, at best, is undesirable and bitter. The cowardly lion was very unhappy with the false reality he had created; and thus, was on a quest to find courage to overcome the fears that controlled his life. He was looking, however, to fix his problem from the outside in, instead of from the inside out.
Are you on this same journey? Could it be that you are letting fear give you a new name? Can you see how the lion had lost all confidence within himself? What a dangerous place to be. It is in this place that you can be controlled by fear. Fear is darkness and lies and can only be present where there is a void of light. A lie is darkness running undercover; but it is presented as truth. How can you know if you are embracing lies as truth and darkness as light? It is by the fruit of your life. You cannot escape the fruit. Do you feel more alive today than ever, or are you feeling death within your soul? Are you giving yourself a new internal name that speaks death, or is your new name one that speaks life?
Your spiritual enemy is constantly trying to give you a new name, one that reflects sadness and failure. Just check on the names you are calling yourself--this is your evidence. When the lion finally saw the Wizard, he found that the Wizard did not have a magic potion of courage to give him, but he did have the truth. The truth was in the lion all the time. He just needed to discover the truth of God within himself and exercise faith in it.
If you have received the Spirit of truth in your life, then the truth to set you free has been in you all the time. You just need to exercise confidence in the truth of God and in yourself. This confidence will begat courage, and courage will be the spiritual fuel to propel your future. Confidence and courage says that you will not run from your problems, but will hit them head on. Confidence and courage says that you will not fail; but you will instead prevail. God's call gives you a name. It is the victorious one, part of a royal diadem. God has already given you a "new name" to go with a "new nature" of the "new man". Will you believe the "lie" or embrace the "truth"? Could it be possible that the Creator knows best what the creation He created should be called? Of course He does! Be courageous and believe.
Isaiah 62:2-3: And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name , which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. (KJV)
Can you see that this new name will be part of the crown of glory that our Lord will hold? To be part of a crown must mean you have great value. He died and bought the rites of your heavenly domain name. Not only is your name part of the Lord's crown, it is also part of a royal diadem. Royal means you have "kingly ancestry" and "diadem" means to be wrapped around. God calls you a royal diadem which means that because of your royal ancestry, you are wrapped around His hand never to be let go. Can you see it? Jesus is King, and you and I are His crown. Not only are you given a new name, you are also given a new address where this man or woman with the new name will live. This new name is eternal just like the new address is eternal. This new address only needs a name and destination in which to complete its journey. This is a spiritual key that creates your eternity as well as your future here on earth.
Rev. 3:12: ... I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. (KJV)
The name of something is the first line written in an address; therefore, the name is the first thing that determines where the object is going! You can see that what you call yourself determines where your life is going. Perhaps you need to learn from this heavenly truth and begin agreeing with your Creator. Have the courage to believe that you have a new name which sets you free from the past and sends you into your future. I challenge you right now to pray and ask God what your new name is. Be courageous. Don't be afraid. Stop right now and just ask. Listen to His still small voice. I'll give you a little help. Remember that your new name has to do with your destination. Write me back and let me know what you hear.
May God bless you all in this new year of 2010. I encourage you to confidently step forward in faith and with courage, to embrace who God truly created you to be!
Blessings,
Alan Smith
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