Courage is sometimes understood as the absence of fear. However, courage is not a feeling. Courage is the ability to stay in action even in the face of fear. We demonstrate courage when we are able to do the right thing whether we are afraid or not. Ture courage often means “doing it scared.”
We believe that we build courage through obedience to God demonstrated by action. We learn to be courageous when we step our in obedience even when we are afraid and then find God faithful. This is the story of Peter stepping out fo the boat. Even though he faltered with fear, he had an experience of being empowered by Jesus that none of the other disciples had. We don’t build courage by gathering information but by repeatedly experiencing the faithfulness of God.
Ambrose Redmoon said, “Courage is not the absence of fear but the judgment that something else is more importatn than fear.” Leaders must be able to discern what is more important than fear, to align his or her own behavior with those values, and then to guide other people to do the same.