Day Thirteen
FORTITUDE
Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.
—MAYA ANGELOU
Because your soul represents the very core of your being, it is important you learn how to exercise control over the issues that flow out of your soul. This includes your emotions. Fortitude is the ability to exercise self-control and mastery over how you feel. It serves as an anchor in a world where emotions rule and feelings dominate—often leading to heartache, confusion, poor choices, and self-sabotage. So how do you exercise fortitude over your emotions?
First, it must be reinforced that God created you as an emotional being. It is wrong to believe that a cold, stoic disposition is more godly than feeling deeply. Consider this: God made you into a feeling person because He Himself has feelings—strong ones. Scripture is replete with examples of God Almighty exhibiting different emotional qualities. You see this with Jesus Christ, as He was moved with compassion for the sick and hurting.
Yet, one must ask, “If emotions are good, why do they cause so many problems?” Let’s return to the Master as an example—the Lord Himself. God felt strongly about situations. He felt deeply grieved concerning your sin. His emotions responded time after time as His people, the Israelites, rebelled against Him throughout the Old Testament. God felt, yes, but He did not always respond to His feelings. Instead, God acts in agreement with His truth. Just read what the prophets wrote in the Old Testament. Here, we are given a glimpse into the emotional world of a God who is heartbroken over the sin of His people. The emotion is obviously pure. However, it is interesting to note that God does not respond irrationally to emotion. He feels, but those feelings do not lead Him to destroy Israel and start the work of creation over. They lead Him back to His Word. God does indeed punish Israel, but in such a manner that was in agreement with what had been prophesied concerning their fate (if they continued in rebellion). I reiterate, God responds to truth. The Spirit of God lives within you, enabling you to walk in the same measure of self-control over your emotional life (after all, self-control is a fruit of the Spirit).
I hope you see that the key to fortitude is not allowing your emotions to have free reign in your life, but rather for you to anchor your feelings through truth. This is what grants you fortitude when you are flooded with all sorts of emotions. Truth is the great discerner and evaluating agent of how you feel. Remember, not all emotions are trying to lead you astray. It is the Holy Spirit who enables you to recognize what you are feeling and help you discern whether or not a certain emotion is a feeling you should act on, or if you should cast it down and instead cling to the eternal standard of truth.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
How do you understand God to be emotional? Can you think of any specific examples in Scripture where God/Jesus/Holy Spirit demonstrates emotion? Reflect on these stories and accounts, as they remind you that emotion is not your enemy!
Why do you think so many people (particularly Christians) think emotions are bad? How can emotions lead us astray in our decision-making ability?
What kind of power do your emotions have over your life? Do you find that they lead you into difficulty, or bring you into blessing/good decision-making?
ACTION STEPS
Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you.
—JOSHUA 1:7 ESV
I want to remind you that emotions are not bad. They are from God. The problem is the external stimuli trying to manipulate your emotions. Remember, just because you feel strongly about something does not immediately give you license to act on that emotion. The feeling may be completely legitimate, but the context might be absolutely sinful and destructive. Consider lust. Within the context of marriage, the desire for one’s spouse is God-designed and God-sanctioned. However, the same strong feelings outside of marriage are considered sinful. When the temptation comes, bringing with it different feelings and emotions, it is so important for you to be grounded in the truth so you know how to recognize what is of God, what is of your flesh, and what is of the evil one. As it was for Joshua, so it is for you—truth empowers you to be strong and courageous!