Courage

I've been thinking a lot about this years Mutual theme for the yw/ym program in our church. It is found in Joshua 1:9
"Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed; for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest."
How can this be applied to my life and what does it mean to me? I recently learned of a Christian leader in the Nazi era by the name of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. You can read a bio about him here
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Bonhoeffer.html

There are 2 quotes by him that I feel speak to what Joshua was talking about. The first is found on the page mentioned.

"Who stands firm? Only the one for whom the final standard is not his reason, his principles, his conscience, his freedom, his virtue, but who is ready to sacrifice all these, when in faith and sole allegiance to God he is called to obedient and responsible action: the responsible person, whose life will be nothing but an answer to God's question and call."

The second one is:
"Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act."

We are in the middle of fundamental transformation of our Government where the founding principles of this country are being destroyed. We are in a time where the principles of God are being perverted which I like to refer to as "the teachings of man mingled with scripture." I believe that we have to stand firm for truth and righteousness and fight the good fight no matter what the odds or persecution. We don't have a call to arms, but we do have a call to education and a call to be the voice of the people. I take great inspiration from Dietrich and pray that I can continue to stand up and "answer to God's question and call."