You Can Grow in Courage!

1-3. What made Jesus’ words: “Get up, let us go,” so brave?

“GET up, let us go.” Is it possible that those are the bravest words that any human has ever spoken? You might wonder how those words express bravery. We find the answer when we consider who spoke them and why.​—Matt. 26:46.

² Jesus Christ spoke these words to his faithful followers. He had said them before. (John 14:31) In this case, though, the timing was crucial. He was in a hillside garden just outside the city of Jerusalem. It was late on a moonlit night, and Jesus knew that an armed mob was approaching. He knew what the mob intended to do to him. He was about to face the most difficult trial that any man has ever endured. And he knew that he would face that danger alone.

³ Jesus did not try to avoid the danger he was facing. Though he could have called on mighty angels to protect him, he never did. (Matt. 26:53) Rather, he simply said: “Get up, let us go.” Where was Jesus headed? Straight into danger, torment, and death. Why was he willing to do that? Because he loved his Father and he loved his followers.

4-5. What kind of courage did Jesus show, and why do we need it?

⁴ Without question, Jesus Christ was the most courageous man who ever lived. Are you one of his followers? Then you too are courageous. True Christians must have courage. Today, we live in troubled and dangerous times, so we need that quality more than ever.

⁵ How can we define the kind of courage that Jesus showed? True courage does not mean laughing at danger, taking needless risks, or rushing headlong into peril. It is not the daring or recklessness of those who love violence. (Ps. 11:5) Rather, Christian courage is a kind of inner strength. It is the strength that enables us to go ahead and do what we know is right in God’s eyes, no matter how hard or how frightening that may be.

You Can Imitate Jesus’ Courage!

6. If we feel that we lack courage, how might Jesus’ example comfort us?

⁶ Perhaps you wonder whether you can be courageous under test, as Jesus was. If so, remember this: Jesus is reasonable. Like his Father, Jesus never expects more from us than we can handle. (Ps. 103:14; John 14:9) For example, on that night in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked his apostles to stay awake with him, and they let him down. Yet, he kindly said to them: “The spirit, of course, is eager, but the flesh is weak.” (Matt. 26:41) He understood their weaknesses, and he understands yours as well.

7-8. How has Jesus confidently reassured his followers?

⁷ Jesus also expressed confidence in his followers. Imagine the reassuring tone of his voice when he told them: “Take courage! I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33) He knew that they could follow in his footsteps​—and they did. Jesus used the expression “take courage” on a number of occasions. He said it to a paralytic before assuring him that his sins were forgiven. (Matt. 9:2) He said it to a woman after healing her grievous illness. (Matt. 9:22) He said it to his disciples, reassuring them when they were frightened during a windstorm. (Matt. 14:27) And from heaven he said the same thing to the apostle Paul after an assembly of angry judges threatened to tear him apart.​—Acts 23:9-11.

⁸ In a sense, your courageous King is saying the same thing to you now. He wants you to “take courage”! And he knows you can. His Father, Jehovah, has given you exactly what you need in order to do so.

How Can the Bible Help Us to Grow in Courage?

9. How can God’s Word encourage us?

⁹ Lovingly, Jehovah filled his inspired Word with examples that can help us to grow in courage. In it we find the true stories of many men and women, young and old, from all walks of life. All of them surely had “feelings like ours,” just as the prophet Elijah did. (Jas. 5:17) Like all of us, they were imperfect humans with frailties, limitations, and faults. And like us, they faced all kinds of obstacles, challenges, and even dangers. Yet, they conquered them, much as Jesus did. They took courage and left behind vivid examples that continue to encourage us.

10-11. What can this book help you to do, and how can you use it? (See also the box “How to Use This Publication for Personal Study and Family Worship.”)

¹⁰ This book is designed to help you grow in courage. In the 54 chapters that follow, you will see how Jehovah helped imperfect humans like you to gain the courage they needed. So read each narrative, then dig deeper and study the background of each character. As you do, you will get to know these men and women better and better.

¹¹ May their examples help you become more courageous so that you will endure these difficult “last days.” (2 Tim. 3:1) Day by day, let us remember Jehovah’s reassurance: “I will never leave you, and I will never abandon you.” As Paul noted, those words can help us to “be of good courage and say: ‘Jehovah is my helper; I will not be afraid.’”​—Heb. 13:5, 6.