Have you ever had a song speak to you? Or perhaps I should ask—have you ever felt God speak to you or impress something upon your heart through a song?

A few weeks ago, while rocking my little one to sleep and listening to music through my earphones, a familiar song began to play. I’ve heard it countless times before, but that night it stirred something deep within me. The lyrics seemed to leap out, and I realized how timely the message of that song is for the world we’re living in today—and for my generation. I want to share the lyrics with you and try to express the impact they had on me that quiet, still night.

“Courageous” by Casting Crowns

Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines “courage” as “mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.”
But where do we get that mental or moral strength from?

Psalm 27:14 (KJV) says, “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.”

Our strength comes from our Creator—our Savior—the One who made us in His image and placed within us the power to overcome. We have strength through His Holy Spirit!

“We were warriors on the front lines

Standing, unafraid

But now we’re watchers on the sidelines

While our families slip away”

How excited were you when you first experienced the touch of God? How motivated, dedicated, and consecrated were you when you first received the Holy Ghost—God’s Spirit—your salvation? It felt like we could take on the world, stand against Satan and all the forces of hell, fight for our families, and be strong and courageous in the Lord. We understood that through the Spirit of God, nothing could stop us from living for Him and serving Him with our whole hearts.

But for some, has it seemed that over time—after months or even years of living for and serving God—that initial fire has started to fade? The luster and power you once felt seem dimmer now? Maybe you understand it’s not that God has changed, but you no longer feel that same desire to keep fighting. You’re weary of facing the same battles, the same spirits that try to hinder you, the same problems that keep surfacing in life.

All the while, we don’t realize that we—and even our families—can begin slipping away from the only place we can truly find help, comfort, strength, and life: in the hands of the God who formed us in His very image and created us for “such a time as this.”

“Where are you, men of courage?

You were made for so much more

Let the pounding of our hearts cry

We will serve the Lord”

Where are the people who will stand up and declare that their identity in God is something worth fighting for? Where are the fathers and mothers who will rise and say that their marriage, their children, and their families are worth fighting for—and recognize that the only way to truly give their best to their family is to be led by God and to live in His will?

Let there be a cry that rings out across the land—from fathers and mothers, husbands and wives, grandparents, and children—from every stage and walk of life: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua 24:15 (KJV):
“And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

“We were made to be courageous

And we’re taking back the fight

We were made to be courageous

And it starts with us tonight

The only way we’ll ever stand

Is on our knees with lifted hands

Make us courageous

Lord, make us courageous”

We need to make up our minds that we are going to be courageous. We must recognize that we have so much to lose if we give up the fight—and everything to gain if we keep walking, keep striving, and keep fighting for our relationship with God, for ourselves, and for our families.

The only way we can accomplish this is by finding a place of prayer and humbly submitting and surrendering to our God—our Savior. And not just once, but through a daily sacrifice of prayer to our Creator, our Defender, and our Redeemer.

We need to continually ask God to shape us into what He desires us to be—to fulfill His will and the calling and ministry He has placed on our lives. We must lead our families in His will, bringing ourselves, our spouses, and our children before Him every single day.

“This is our resolution

Our answer to the call

We will love our wives and children

We refuse to let them fall

We will reignite the passion

That we buried deep inside

May the watchers become warriors

Let the men of God arise”

This is a call to arms for the men—for the husbands, the fathers, the spiritual leaders of their families.
Is your resolve to answer the call that God has placed on you as the spiritual head of your home? Will you take up the mantle that God has laid upon you? Will you love your wife and children enough to lead them as Christ loves and leads the Church—guiding them safely through the perilous paths of this world? Will you choose to lean not on your own understanding, but to follow Christ and lead your precious family in His ways?

Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up watching life happen instead of stepping into the fight. But there’s something powerful about a man who leads his family toward God with quiet strength and steady faith. When prayer, fasting, reading the Word, and spending time with God become a part of who you are again, that passion you once felt begins to stir. Let Him meet you in that secret place, renew your heart, and guide you as you lead your family forward with that same fire and devotion.

In the song, it was a call to the men—the leaders of the home—but wives, mothers, and women have an equally vital role in following Christ and supporting their families in faith.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 (KJV) says, “And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

If one (Satan) prevails against him (the man), two (husband and wife) shall withstand him (Satan)—and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. (The third person in the threefold cord is God, with the husband and wife.)

“Seek justice

Love mercy

Walk humbly with your God

In the war of the mind

I will make my stand

In the battle of the heart

And the battle of the hand

We were made to be courageous

Lord, make us courageous”

Micah 6:8 (KJV): “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”

God has clearly shown us what He requires of us—to seek justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Him. To take a stand and declare that this life of living for God is worth the fight. That our marriages are worth fighting for. That our children are worth fighting for. And that every future generation that will come from our lives is worth fighting for.

God, please make us courageous.
God, please make me courageous.

– A Redeemed Ruby