I am amped up to be one of the group leaders for a 10 week series our Men’s Ministry group is spearheading at our church called, “Stepping Up”. I was encouraged to see 80+ men decide to take this journey with us to step up into Biblical manhood, despite the crazy snow storm that was raging on outside.

“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” -1 Corinthians 16:13-14

After watching the inspiring session one video, which highlighted the courageous story of Red Erwin an airman of the Los Angeles B-29 Super-fortress, I met the five men assigned to my group who will be taking this journey with me. Great bunch of guys with diverse backgrounds and a ton of baggage that most men carry with them, including me. As I was going through the weekly exercises I paused at the section called ‘Courage Robbers’ because so many of us men just get paralyzed by courage robbers.

Here is an excerpt from my book Heartstone where I share a snippet of dealing with some of my own courage robbers:

I love the scene from J. R. R Tolkien’s “The Return of the King” where Aragon is desperately outnumbered. He looks fear right in the eye and finds the strength to inspire his men against what seems like an almost certain defeat against the massive forces of the enemy. Standing firm and riding in front of his army, he declares,

I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me.
A day may come when the courage of men fails,
when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship,
…but it is not this day! This day we fight!
By all that you hold dear on this good earth,
I bid you stand…

Sounds so easy in the movies, doesn’t it? Ambrose Redmoon defines courage as not having the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. “God, I am afraid, but give me the courage to push through my fears, the burdens of a passive spirit and the regret of my past failures.” It was time for me to take up the sword of the Spirit, the word of God and to go to war on behalf of righteousness; it was time to begin the battle for my children! All this stuff, the garbage that has burdened my life for so long and all the generational issues that had been passed down, had to end with me. I did not want any of this to be passed down to my children, and I asked the Lord to do whatever He needed to do in my life to free my children of these chains and burdens that I have carried for so long. Unfortunately, I had to walk through another failed marriage for me to really get this. To break free of old patterns, to stand up and become the man God called me to be.

In dealing with some of my own courage robbers the supplemental reading of lesson one shares the anecdotal Greek Mythology tale of Sisyphus.

There’s a story in Greek mythology of a king named Sisyphus, the legendary founder of the city of Corinth. Sisyphus had a pride problem, and for this Zeus gave him a creative punishment: roll a boulder up a hill. No big deal, except that it was rigged so that each time he came close to the top, he would lose control and the boulder would roll back to the bottom. For all eternity he was banished to perform this beastly burden—always in sight of the goal, but never reaching it. Men know in their hearts what it means to act courageously. They know what needs to be done, yet many never quite get there. Something steps in the way and that boulder goes rolling back to the bottom once again. Robbed of courage, they decide it’s easier just to recline on the boulder in the valley and give up the fight.ⁱ

Wow…”Men know in their hearts what it means to act courageously. They know what needs to be done, yet many never quite get there!” This is so true for so many men, isn’t it?

What is robbing you of your courage?

Here is a list of the the top 10 things men fear:ⁱⁱ

10) Going to the doctor
9) Being wrong
8) Public speaking
7) Commitment
6) Being an inadequate lover
5) Poor health
4) The risk of financial loss
3) Not being a good husband or father
2) Appearing to need help
1) Failure

Men we live in a generation where backbone is needed more than ever and we need to identify and face our courage robbers head on. Authentic men who truly serve Jesus Christ will need to be less like Mister Rogers and more like Aragorn marching on the Black Gates of Mordor. The enemy of our souls isn’t conceding anything, so why are we? Our Commander-In-Chief Jesus Christ finished it on the cross so why are we conceding not merely inches, but miles of territory to a foe who is beaten?

There is a courageous freedom God is calling us into and our wives, our kids and the world desperately needs men who have pushed the boulder of courage of the hill that robs us.

What is it for you?

If you could pinpoint that one thing you need to do get that boulder of courage over the hill what would it be?