As you can see, the title "FIERCE" can be related to great courage.
And yes, this post is mainly speaking about courage.
Why courage?
Because as what I mentioned in the last post, courage is required in believing.
Maybe courage had been a common topic among people.
"Man up and talk to your crush!" - When socializing with unfamiliar people.
"Hey, let's try this out!" - When going on an adventure or trying something new.
"Why not...?" - When accepting new suggestions we never thought of.
Courage is an important attribute that we require in our lives.
It doesn't only mean being strong, it also means being capable of trusting.
It happened on a night after I created the artwork "I want to believe".
This Bible verse was given by one of the leaders in church during an altar call at church:
The lion is often viewed as a strong and brave animal.
Being called as the king of the animal kingdom, it brings the meaning of power and authority.
The lion is one of my favorite felines because of it's personality.
As a top predator and a symbol of courage, it had earned my favor.
Lions sometimes survive alone and sometimes survive with their families.
Needing to hunt down prey and to feed itself and perhaps it's offsprings can be hard.
Why do I say that it's hard?
They have to avoid elephants and herds of buffalos that may threaten their lives.
They take a risk to be killed when going out to hunt.
Taking that into history, we learned that humans from prehistorical times hunt animals as well.
And by facing dangerous predators such as tigers, they are gambling with death.
Aren't they afraid to be killed?
I would say yes, yes indeed.
BUT, they have no choice but to overcome that fear for survival.
In psychology, there's one theory that can be used to describe humans' response to fear.
The "fight or flight theory" states that fear triggers our human instincts to either escape or to face fear.
Our ancestors had to overcome that fear of being killed to hunt down animals.
Fear is an essential ingredient for humans to act in courage.
To make things simple, imagine the old fairy tales about princes saving princesses from dragons.
The dragons are fearsome creatures that can create fatalities.
Try putting yourself as the prince using only a sword and a shield to defeat that monstrosity.
Wouldn't you be afraid to be incinerated by the dragon?
But what those folklores never mentioned was the prince being fearful.
Stories described them to only be brave and courageous.
Slaying the dragon and saving the princess without any worries.
Is it logical for one to not have fear? I doubt so.
Being brave does not mean that fear is non-existent.
Being brave means that there's fear being overcome.
The absence of fear is emotionless.
We have emotions.
We are not robots.
In the Biblical context, God had always pushed us to our best potentials.
It only depends on whether we want to beat that limit.
The phrase, "Be strong and courageous" was repeated three times in one incident.
Joshua was to take charge of the people after Moses had left (ref: [Joshua 1:1-9]).
Isn't it a scary thing to lead an angry mob who don't want to listen to you?
Well, God knew that, but He still encouraged Joshua to do it.
We won't understand how exactly did Joshua felt but we do know he was pressured.
He had to do what had to be done.
He took on the challenge, facing the crowd with courage.
Does it have to be things as Joshua encountered that we may have courage?
The answer would surely be a "No".
In fact, we need to be brave every single day.
It drives us to move on, to survive and to thrive.
We need to be brave when we are doing daily tasks.
We need to be brave when we are trying out new things.
We need to be brave when we face challenges.
We need to be brave even when we run away.
Let me bring up something about myself.
I am aquaphobic, a guy who nearly drowned for 3 times.
I am afraid of getting drowned again.
But a few weeks ago, I stepped into the swimming pool.
I cannot swim but I took the courage to get into the water.
I tried to learn how to float but was overtook by the phobia.
My friends who joined me brought me to the center of the pool.
I lay on the surface of the water as they carry my hands and feet there.
I had no control over my body and was still afraid of drowning.
What they told me was a reassurance.
"Don't be afraid, we're here with you."
A reminder that some-One had told us.
It's alright to be afraid, we all can be intimidated sometimes.
Just take on faith.
Roar in front of your fears.
Remember, there's some-One bigger than your fears.
God is love, and His "perfect love casts out all fear" (ref: [1 John 4:18])
He can help you overcome your fears.
Ending this post with the reminder from the book of Joshua:
Blessings
Nic
And yes, this post is mainly speaking about courage.
Why courage?
Because as what I mentioned in the last post, courage is required in believing.
Maybe courage had been a common topic among people.
"Man up and talk to your crush!" - When socializing with unfamiliar people.
"Hey, let's try this out!" - When going on an adventure or trying something new.
"Why not...?" - When accepting new suggestions we never thought of.
Courage is an important attribute that we require in our lives.
It doesn't only mean being strong, it also means being capable of trusting.
It happened on a night after I created the artwork "I want to believe".
This Bible verse was given by one of the leaders in church during an altar call at church:
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of sound mind. - [2 Timothy 1:7]
 |
| A roaring lion, "FIERCE" |
The lion is often viewed as a strong and brave animal.
Being called as the king of the animal kingdom, it brings the meaning of power and authority.
The lion is one of my favorite felines because of it's personality.
As a top predator and a symbol of courage, it had earned my favor.
Lions sometimes survive alone and sometimes survive with their families.
Needing to hunt down prey and to feed itself and perhaps it's offsprings can be hard.
Why do I say that it's hard?
They have to avoid elephants and herds of buffalos that may threaten their lives.
They take a risk to be killed when going out to hunt.
Taking that into history, we learned that humans from prehistorical times hunt animals as well.
And by facing dangerous predators such as tigers, they are gambling with death.
Aren't they afraid to be killed?
I would say yes, yes indeed.
BUT, they have no choice but to overcome that fear for survival.
In psychology, there's one theory that can be used to describe humans' response to fear.
The "fight or flight theory" states that fear triggers our human instincts to either escape or to face fear.
Our ancestors had to overcome that fear of being killed to hunt down animals.
Fear is an essential ingredient for humans to act in courage.
To make things simple, imagine the old fairy tales about princes saving princesses from dragons.
The dragons are fearsome creatures that can create fatalities.
Try putting yourself as the prince using only a sword and a shield to defeat that monstrosity.
Wouldn't you be afraid to be incinerated by the dragon?
But what those folklores never mentioned was the prince being fearful.
Stories described them to only be brave and courageous.
Slaying the dragon and saving the princess without any worries.
Is it logical for one to not have fear? I doubt so.
Being brave does not mean that fear is non-existent.
Being brave means that there's fear being overcome.
The absence of fear is emotionless.
We have emotions.
We are not robots.
In the Biblical context, God had always pushed us to our best potentials.
It only depends on whether we want to beat that limit.
The phrase, "Be strong and courageous" was repeated three times in one incident.
Joshua was to take charge of the people after Moses had left (ref: [Joshua 1:1-9]).
Isn't it a scary thing to lead an angry mob who don't want to listen to you?
Well, God knew that, but He still encouraged Joshua to do it.
We won't understand how exactly did Joshua felt but we do know he was pressured.
He had to do what had to be done.
He took on the challenge, facing the crowd with courage.
Does it have to be things as Joshua encountered that we may have courage?
The answer would surely be a "No".
In fact, we need to be brave every single day.
It drives us to move on, to survive and to thrive.
We need to be brave when we are doing daily tasks.
We need to be brave when we are trying out new things.
We need to be brave when we face challenges.
We need to be brave even when we run away.
Let me bring up something about myself.
I am aquaphobic, a guy who nearly drowned for 3 times.
I am afraid of getting drowned again.
But a few weeks ago, I stepped into the swimming pool.
I cannot swim but I took the courage to get into the water.
I tried to learn how to float but was overtook by the phobia.
My friends who joined me brought me to the center of the pool.
I lay on the surface of the water as they carry my hands and feet there.
I had no control over my body and was still afraid of drowning.
What they told me was a reassurance.
"Don't be afraid, we're here with you."
A reminder that some-One had told us.
It's alright to be afraid, we all can be intimidated sometimes.
Just take on faith.
Roar in front of your fears.
Remember, there's some-One bigger than your fears.
God is love, and His "perfect love casts out all fear" (ref: [1 John 4:18])
He can help you overcome your fears.
Ending this post with the reminder from the book of Joshua:
No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. ... Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." - [Joshua 1:5, 9]
Blessings
Nic
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