I Chronicles 22-23

“Be strong and courageous, do not fear or be dismayed’ (22:13).  As a youth, David had learned to depend on God as shield and refuge, but his son Solomon had not grown up with the same challenges.  When David charged him with building God’s Temple, he also counseled him to follow God’s laws, trust Him, and seek Him whole-heartedly.  While Solomon began well, he eventually looked to alliances and marriages for the security that his father had found in God.

We all fear something: sickness, loneliness, poverty or failure.  Real courage is learning that “God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 61:8).