Examples of Courage

Dannah Gresh: Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth says there’s only one place to get courage for all you’re facing.

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: God is the ultimate source of all encouragement. Anything or anyone other than God that we turn to find our primary encouragement, we'll find is insufficient.

Dannah: This is the Revive Our Hearts podcast with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, author of Heaven Rules, for September 4, 2025. I’m Dannah Gresh.

Yesterday, Nancy began a series called "Defying Discouragement." Here’s the thinking behind that title: Defy is another word for "resist" or "oppose," and Scripture tells us to resist the devil. Nancy calls discouragement one of the enemy's favorite tools. So when we “defy discouragement,” we’re engaging in a true Ephesians 6 kind of warfare. 

She recorded this series in Little Rock, Arkansas. Nancy has friends there who serve as missionaries in the developing world. 

Nancy: They've been there for just about a year, and last week their senior leader on the field had a family circumstance come up and had to leave the field on a day's notice. So this couple, my friends, were left with the work themselves. They were just new to the work.

The next morning they received a call letting them know that my friend Cheryl's father had died. She was going to have to come back to the States for the funeral. The family is from here in Arkansas and she was needing a place to stay. Within a period of days—I don't know that I have the whole sequence exactly right—her father died, and then several days later her husband's mother died . . . in another state.

They had just lost their field leaders. Now Cheryl comes to the States to bury her father. As soon as she gets here, she hears that her mother-in-law has died. She had to make this long trip from another country here to Little Rock. I was to pick her up at the airport. She missed a flight because it was overbooked. She ended up having I think it was a twenty-one-hour travel day, just with one thing after another going wrong on the trip to Little Rock. Then she said she got searched because of all the security. She had to come through Miami, and that's a big high-security area. She said it was I think fifteen times in the course of that day she had to stop and go through different kinds of searches.

By the time I picked her up at the airport, it was 10:30 at night our time. She had been going since I think 2:30 that morning or something. This was Father's Day. She had just lost her dad. I had been praying for her throughout the day; my heart just went out to her. I met her there at the airport. She did look tired. She had to be. She was exhausted. But this woman had a smile on her face.

I was amazed. My heart had been so heavy for her all day as I had been thinking of what she was going through. She greeted me and I hugged her and I said, "Oh, Cheryl, I just love you! I'm so glad to see you. I can't believe what you've been through. How are you doing?"

She smiled and she said, "Nancy, it's been a hard day, but God's grace is so real. God's grace is so real." As she's been in and out of my home for the last few days, and making funeral arrangments, and both of their families are unbelieving families. They were facing enormous loss, but in the midst of all of this—and not in any fake or surface way—she just kept saying, "There's grace."

She told me about their past year on the mission field and all the adjustments they've had to make and some of the difficulties they've experienced, and she kept coming back and saying, "God's grace is so real." I was seeing the grace of God lived out in my friend, in her husband, as they were walking through these circumstances.

We've been looking at the life of David in 1 Samuel 30 and seeing a time in David's life—and there were many—when David faced just overwhelming circumstances. Grief upon grief and wave upon wave. David felt the grief. He wept. He was distressed.

But we saw yesterday that in the midst of the enormous loss—having lost the wives and children of David's men, having had them taken away captive, and the men threatening to stone David for putting them in this circumstance, in the midst of all this—we read in verse 6, "But David encouraged himself in the Lord."

We're looking this week at how to deal with discouragement. We all go through times of discouragement. My friends Jeff and Cheryl have just been through some very discouraging times. Some of you are walking through some discouraging days in your life, in your family, in your health, in your place of work, in your church. How do you deal with it?

First of all, you do what David did. He encouraged himself in the Lord. He said, "Lord, You are an encouragement that I can't find anywhere else." God is the ultimate source of all encouragement. Anything or anyone other than God that we turn to find our primary encouragement, we'll find is insufficient, not enough to fill our tank when we are on low. God is the source of all true encouragement.

We read in 2 Thessalonians 2, "May the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loves us and by his grace has given us eternal encouragement and good hope, may he encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word" (vv. 16–17 paraphrased). God Himself is the encourager.

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1, "Praise be to the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of compassion and the god of all encouragement, the god of all comfort, who encourages us in all ouf troubles" (vv. 3–4 paraphrased).

Then we learn in the New Testament that God has given us the Holy Spirit to encourage us, to comfort us. In fact, the word that Jesus uses to describe the ministry of the Holy Spirit—comforter—it's the same word that speaks of encouragement and encouraging one another in the Scripture. The Holy Spirit is given to be our encourager, to be our comforter. He is the one who ministers the grace of God to our hearts in those times when we cannot find any other source of encouragement.

The apostle Paul knew what it was in the New Testament. We've been looking at David in the Old Testament. But the apostle Paul in the New Testament learned what it was to find God as his source of encouragement in every circumstance and season of life.

You read, for example, in Acts 23 that Paul was being grilled, being questioned, by a mob, a crowd there in Jerusalem. Verse 10 tells us that the dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go in and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.

The following night the Lord stood near Paul. God Himself came into those barracks and He said to Paul, "Take courage! Be encouraged! As you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome."

God said to Paul, "I'm not through with you yet. Until I'm through with you here on this earth, no one can take your life. So take courage, be encouraged! I have a plan for you. I haven't fallen off my throne. I'm fulfilling My plan."

You see the same thought in 2 Timothy 4, where Paul talks about a whole string of people who had deserted him. He said, "Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm, and at my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me." And then verse 17: "But the Lord stood with me and He strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me and that all the Gentiles might hear."

Paul was saying, "Everyone deserted me. The few who didn't, they did me harm. But God stood with me. God will never desert me. God will never do me harm, except as He knows it's needed ultimately to do me good. God had a purpose for my life. God strengthened me, so that the message might be preached through me and that all the Gentiles might hear."

You see, God encourages us not just so we can be encouraged, but so that we can become instruments of sharing the gospel of Christ with others; so we can testify of the gospel and the grace of God. Having been encouraged and strengthened by the Lord, we can become channels of blessing and encouragement in the lives of others.

Matthew Henry in his commentary on 1 Samuel 30, the story we've been looking at where David strengthened himself in the Lord, has this to say about that passage.

Those that have taken the Lord for their God may take encouragement from the relationship to Him in the worst of times. It is the duty of all godly people, whatever happens, to encourage themselves in God as their Lord and their God, assuring themselves that He can and He will bring light out of darkness, peace out of trouble and good out of evil to all that love Him and are the called according to His purpose."

Matthew Henry says that it's our duty to encourage ourselves in the Lord. You know, you can encourage yourself in the Lord when there is no human or visible means of encouragement or support around you. When there is nothing to hold you up, when there is no good news coming your way, when everyone has deserted you or abandoned you; there is no situation that you will ever face and there is no situation I will ever face in which we cannot receive strength and encouragement from God.

That doesn't mean we won't have to walk through the circumstance. It doesn't mean we won't feel intensely or keenly the loss or the pain. It doesn't mean God wraps us up in this little cocoon and good Christians never hurt. But it means in the midst of the hurt, in the midst of the pain, that in every circumstance, in every situation I will ever face, I can receive strength and encouragement from God. You can, too.

I've been reading this past week a wonderful biography that has been really encouraging me. It's the story of Ann Judson. Ann Judson was the first woman missionary to be sent out from the United States.

She and her husband, Adoniram Judson, were missionaries to Burma back in the 1800s. The things that they faced that just go beyond anything that most of us will have to ever experience in this lifetime! Then the journals and the letters that Ann Judson kept, she talks about how God was such a very real and present strength and encouragement in their troubles.

Let me read to you a few things that she wrote. She wrote in a letter to a friend,

These things, my dear Nancy, have caused us to weep and pour out our hearts in prayer to Him, whose direction we so much wish and need. We feel that we are alone in the world, with no real friends but each other; no one on whom we can depend but God. It seems as if there were no resting place for me on earth.

For the first year and a half, they went from place to place and could not find a country that would allow them to come in and preach the gospel. They wandered around and had enormous loss and pain—a child stillborn, another child that they buried at seven months and a lot of physical illness. She said,

It seems as if there were no resting place for me on earth. Oh, when will my wanderings terminate? When shall I find some little spot that I can call my home while in this world? Yet I rejoice in all Thy dealings, O my Heavenly Father, for Thou didst support me under every trial and enable me to lean on Thee.

She strengthened and encouraged herself in the Lord. She wrote home to her parents and said,

We felt very gloomy and dejected the first night we arrived in view of our prospects, but we were enabled to lean on God and to feel that He was able to support us under the most discouraging circumstances.

She strengthened her heart in the Lord. She encouraged herself in the Lord, and so can you, and so can I. No matter what we're facing, no matter how long and dark the tunnel seems, strengthen your heart in the Lord. Encourage yourself in the Lord. He will not fail.

Father, our hearts are strengthened and encouraged as we just talk about these things, and as we see what You did in the life of David and in the life of Paul and in the life of Your servant, Ann Judson. Lord, You haven't changed. You are the God who encouraged Adoniram Judson in Burma a couple hundred years ago. And you are the God who comes and encourages and strengthens our hearts today. So would You do it by Your grace. Help us to turn to You to strengthen and encourage our hearts in the Lord. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.

Dannah: That’s Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth telling you where to find strength for the challenges you’re facing today.

When we hear examples of others who got their strength in the Lord, it encourages us to do the same. And you know what? Over the years, Revive Our Hearts has had the opportunity to hear from some warriors of the faith who have needed to learn on the Lord in situations that are hard to imagine. Women like Joni Eareckson Tada, Ciara Dierking, and many more. In the time we have left, let’s hear from one of these women about how she strengthens herself in the Lord.

Katherine Wolf miraculously survived a catastrophic stroke at the age of twenty-six, and it changed her life forever.

Katherine Wolfe: As you can see, I still have a paralyzed face, and I'm now deaf permanently in one ear, and my eyes do not track one image, so I have permanent double vision, and I walk using assisted devices, or sit in a wheelchair most days, and I have ongoing swallowing issues—it a number of lifelong challenges. And yet, everything is so much better than it was after the stroke.

It took about two years in hospitals and brain rehabs to relearn basic functions—how to eat, speak, walk, swallow food. It took eleven months to swallow food. It's been quite a difficult road for these past sixteen years. 

Dannah: Talk about discouraging! For five years, Katherine wrestled with her new reality.

Katherine: We're all very good at denying, being in denial a bit, but instead looking it straight in the eye and saying, "This is it, and it is not going away." It changes the question, because if we accept it's not going away, how then will we live? What will we do with the days we are on earth?

Dannah: Katherine realized something crucial. She didn’t need changed circumstances. She needed hope. She needed to encourage herself in the Lord.

Katherine: The feeling of hope failed me years ago, but what carried me was the habit of hope, was making a decision to make hope part of my life, reminding myself of the deep truths of Jesus I believe, surrounding myself with people who are telling me that story. They want me to live it really well. Deep gratitude for the story that God is writing in my life has been part of that practice of hope. It is recognizing the good things are not over there in her story. No, no, no, the good things of God are in this story because the good things of God are not physical things at all.

She could have a perfect life and be miserable. And yet my life could appear to be falling apart, and I'm loving it. I think that is so the secret —loving the life God has given specifically to you. You know, everybody wants to ask the what if questions: What if this happened? What if that happened? What if I would have done this? I just think that is the wrong question. The right question is, "What is in the story? What is here right now that God is doing? What is right in front of our noses?" Do we have eyes to see that and wake up.

The "What if?" loop is terrorizing, paralyzing, traumatizing. The escape hatch, I believe, off of the "What if?" loop is hope, because hope gives us permission to live our actual lives. Hope lets us enter back into the ongoing hurt of this world, but to have been built differently for an ongoing hope.

I love the thought that the Lord has treasure in the darkness. Isaiah 45:3, that "He gives hidden treasure in the darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that we may know that He is God, the God of Israel, the God who summons us by name" (paraphrased). I am obsessed with that thought, that if you have to walk into the deep darkness of your story, you might as well get the treasure that's there and let it inform how you live the rest of your life. You're going to need it. You're going to need that treasure for the rest of your journey, which will not be pain free.

Dannah: Katherine hasn’t found physical healing, but she’s not discouraged by this anymore because she’s found something deeper.

Katherine: You know, after my stroke and my body becoming so disabled, my feelings were so hurt. How could God let this happen to me? What have I ever done? Like this is some horrific curse, and I need healing of the body, but no, I didn't. What I needed was healing of the soul to feel like this is not a mistake, because God doesn't make mistakes.

God sees me fit to be on this earth means I am worthy of being here, even if my body is disabled, that I needed sort of a redefining of how I viewed healing, so that I could cope, that I could truly see what healing is and isn't. You know, healing, many times, is purely about the physical body. I believe it's so much deeper than that—that's curing. Curing can happen. Sometimes it does. Sometimes God cures 100% but healing is available to all at all times.

I don't pray for healing of my body because I know too much. I don't think there is anything wrong with those prayers, but I believe John 9:3, that this happened so that the works of God might be revealed.

I would not have chosen this for my life. I would not have chosen to live inside a disabled body. But at this point, sixteen years out, I can't imagine my life not having a disabled body. I mean that. I've seen too much in our space of sweet, dear people whose lives have been ravaged through disability, through pain and hardship. Yet, they find joy. I find a deep camaraderie with so many brothers and sisters who could never have imagined living their lives. They are doing it with a tremendous rebellion against the darkness and sadness.

Dannah: There’s more to Katherine Wolf’s story, and we’ll be sharing that in a future Revive Our Hearts program. Stay tuned for that! You can also check out Katherine’s book Hope Heals: A True Story of Overwhelming Loss and an Overcoming Love. There’s a link in the transcript of this program at ReviveOurHearts.com.

How would she advise someone who finds herself facing suffering with no end in sight?

Katherine: The journey is long. What is that adage? The days are long but the years are short. Somehow the years keep going by. I keep offering my hallelujah in the night, and it's working. I would encourage everybody, keep going. Don't stop. Find the treasure while you're there.

Dannah: That’s some powerful advice. Don’t stop. Persevere.

If you’re facing discouraging circumstances and you need some help persevering, we created a resource for you. It’s called Endure: Forty Days of Fortitude. This booklet walks you through a forty-day challenge, encouraging you to defy discouragement by finding strength in the Lord. When you make a donation of any amount in September, we’ll send you this booklet to say thank you. To give, visit ReviveOurHearts.com or call us at 1-800-569-5959. 

And be sure to join us tomorrow as we talk about seeking the Lord’s guidance in our discouragement.

Nancy: I don't know how discouraged you are, how overwhelmed you are, what the circumstances are in your life that you may be facing; you can sing to the Lord.

I find myself often pulling out a hymnal and singing some of those old songs like, "No One Understands Like Jesus," "There's Not a Friend Like the Lowly Jesus; No Not One," "I Must Tell Jesus All of My Trials." I sing songs, choruses of praise and worship and prayer. Singing to the Lord is a command. You can do it.

The danger is, when we are in depressing or discouraging situations, our tendency is wallowing in discouragement rather than getting up and doing what we know we are supposed to do.

Dannah: You won’t want to miss it! Tomorrow on Revive Our Hearts.

This program is a listener-supported production of Revive Our Hearts in Niles, Michigan, calling women to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.

All Scripture is taken from the ESV.

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