Tenacious Winsome Courage

Topics: Devotional

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about how Christians should respond to the pressures we face every day. And I keep coming back to the same conclusion. I can summarize it in three words.

Tenacious winsome courage.

Tenacious means we don’t give up.
Winsome means we face life with a smile, not a scowl.
Courage means we do what needs to be done.

Tenacious means we keep on keeping on.
Winsome means we don’t lose our temper and say something stupid.
Courage means we take our stand for the truth.

Tenacious means we keep on praying.
Winsome means we are cheerful when others attack us.
Courage means we do hard things without complaining.

Tenacious means we love people anyway.
Winsome means we display grace under pressure.
Courage means we speak up instead of wimping out.

We need all three qualities together to face what life throws at us. So perhaps this is a good Monday morning prayer. “Lord, grant me tenacious winsome courage as I go through this day. When I am tempted to give up, help me to keep going. Grant me a cheerful spirit when things don’t go my way. And give me courage to do whatever needs to be done. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Visitor Comments:

December 22, 2008, 12:49 PM Pete says:
	this is great Ray...would it be appropriate to add...humble submissive faith in the Lord Jesus Christ...or is that just assumed?
December 23, 2008, 8:47 AM Chad says:
	Thanks for these challenging words. I would have to say that I struggle with being winsome more than anything else.
December 23, 2008, 4:15 PM Ray Pritchard says:
	Winsome is a challenge for a lot of us, especially being winsome while standing for the truth. It’s easy to be winsome and soft or courageous and unkind. But we really need both if we are to make a difference in the world. Ray
December 23, 2008, 4:16 PM Ray Pritchard says:
	I would call humble submissive faith an underlying quality of life. Without it we won’t be strong—and only the strong can have tenacious winsome courage. They are interlocking pieces of the same godly character. Ray