Courage is not something we necessarily think of as a feminine virtue, but I think there are good grounds to believe otherwise. Here’s a definition: Courage is the ability to control fear when facing danger, difficulty, or pain. It is to be stout hearted, having a resolute spirit, heroic, fearless, plucky (there’s a word you don’t hear often).

The word virtue comes from the Latin word that means manliness or manly courage. So to be virtuous women, we must forsake cowardliness and embrace a biblical femininity. Proverbs 12:4 says, “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband.” The note in the New Geneva Study Bible says this means literally “a wife of valor.” Now I like that: Christian women are to have a backbone if they want to be a crown to their husbands. A wife who is a coward will not be an excellent wife. Sometimes we mistakenly think that a weak, frail, whimpering wife is what a strong, godly man wants in order to show off his manly strength. But the truth is that kind of woman ends up being more of a liability than a blessing. We are to be courageous women, and we have many biblical examples to follow of women with true faith and courage.

I. The command to be brave
Take a look at this sampling of Scriptures that address all Christians to be courageous. It is not just the men who need to be brave, but all believers.

1 Corinthians 16:13 says, “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.”

Philippians 1:27-28: Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, and not in any way terrified by your adversaries….

4:1 Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.

II. The source of our courage
Of course, like all virtues, God is our example and He is the One who gives us strength by means of His power and might to obey all His commands, including the command to stand fast and be brave. Consider these few references below:

Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Ephesians 3:16: …that He would grant you according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man…

Ephesians 6:10: Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

Deuteronomy 31:6: Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.

Hebrews 12:12: Therefore, strengthen the hands which hand down, and the feeble knees….

Psalm 27:14: Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!

In all these verses, we see that God strengthens us, and the source of our courage is the Lord. This should be a great comfort to us, because we may not be naturally courageous, and if it depended on us, we would be cowardly and weak. God goes with us. He will never leave us. We can believe these promises absolutely. And so, courage cannot operate apart from real faith in God.

III. We are strengthened by other saints.

Our courage and faith is a gift from God, but we can also be encouraged to press on by the other means God has appointed: the preaching of the Word and the fellowship of the saints.
Acts 14:21-22: And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra….., strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”

Acts 28:15 When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.

IV. Courage and faith go together.

Rom. 4:20: [Abraham] did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.

It is important for us to remember that last bit: “What He had promised He was also able to perform.” God does not back out of His promises and He never fails. We must be fully convinced of this, just like Abraham was, if we want to walk in courage and faith. And God receives all the glory. We don’t pat ourselves on the back for being courageous. When we are strengthened in faith, we give the glory to God. This is not the superman version of Christianity; this is basic Christianity. We are to take God at His promises, and this will make us courageous women.

When do we need courage? When we are afraid, when we are sick or someone we love is sick, when we are alone. When we are called to do things we have never done before, like getting married, having a baby, taking a new job, moving away from home. We need courage when we have to defend the faith to scoffers, unbelievers, family members, or co-workers. And we will certainly need courage when we die. Thomas Watson said if we live well, we will die well. If we have exercised courage all our lives, then we will have courage at the last.

Women have a fleshly tendency to give way to fear and anxiety, and women can tag their fears as phobias instead of having courage and doing battle with them. We need to reflect on what kinds of things we have accepted as weaknesses, and then ask God to help us to have the courage to tackle them head on.

1 Peter 3 says that we will be Sarah’s daughters if we do what is right and do not give way to fear, or not be afraid with any terror. We can’t prevent fears of all kinds from coming and knocking on our door. But we can get the grace, strength, faith, and courage to not let them in.

Courage is for women, not just for men.