Courage And Faith - Ehud

“Follow me,” he said, “for the LORD has given you victory over Moab your enemy.” So they followed him.

Judges 3:28

Near the end of his book Five Days in London, historian John Lukacs quotes a letter from Harold Nicolson, one of Winston Churchill’s associates during World War II. In it, Nicolson tells his wife, Vita Sackville-West, how the British prime minister’s courage in standing up to Nazi Germany had affected him: “My darling, how infectious courage is. I am rendered far stronger in heart and confidence by such bravery.”

Courage and faith have an infectious quality. They inspire others to bravery and reliance on God. That certainly was the story of an Old Testament character named Ehud.

God raised up Ehud, the second of the twelve judges who ruled over Israel, at a time when Moab’s King Eglon held the upper hand. Moab had dominated Israel for eighteen years, and Ehud knew that it was time for a change.

He was just the man to set that change in motion.

Ehud confronted Eglon in his own palace after convincing the king that he had a secret message for him. When Eglon ordered his servants to leave the room, Ehud drew out his dagger and killed the obese king where he sat.

Ehud escaped and fled to the hill country of Ephraim, then led a band of men down from the hills into Moab. “Follow me,” Ehud ordered his men. Ehud’s courage inspired his men, who earned back their freedom with a rousing victory over the Moabites.

Ehud’s men followed him into battle because he had demonstrated his fitness to lead by courageously facing Eglon on the king’s own turf. He demonstrated his faith by his actions and with his words: The Lord has given you victory.

Ehud had the courage and faith to step up when no one else could, and his people reaped the benefits with eighty years of peace.

How do you inspire those you love to follow you? If you want to do great things for God’s Kingdom, for your family, and for others, you’ll need the two overwhelming weapons of courage and faith—courage to step up when you’re needed, and faith to believe that God will give you victory.