Hello and thank you for joining me today for Give Him 15.

The title of today's post is A Heart of Courage.

Encouragement is an important subject.

Paul frequently spoke of encouraging others and of receiving encouragement.

A believer in the early church named Joseph was actually nicknamed Barnabas by his fellow believers,

which means son of encouragement because of his encouraging heart and nature.

Moses was twice told by God to encourage Joshua regarding his future ministry.

The thought we normally have when hearing the word encouragement is picking up the spirit of someone

who may be hurting or struggling, bringing motivation to press on, or perhaps giving a compliment

to a person that might cause him or her to feel good about themselves or their performance.

These aspects of encouragement are good and significant.

The deeper meaning of this word, however, is even more significant.

In its etymology, the word encouragement literally means to put in courage.

To put in courage.

The courage portion of that word actually comes from the Latin word for heart.

Put in heart.

Think about that.

Courage is a force that originates in the heart.

Emotions will fail you in times of crisis or trouble. The mind invaded by numerous scenarios and what ifs

will often flounder in times of uncertainty, fear, and indecision.

Heart courage is the only safe source of strength in times of trouble.

David said, my heart is fixed, meaning that it was immovable.

...