Simply Beautiful
Join me, Amy Keck, each week as I weave the simple wisdom of Scripture with the beauty of poetry. May each reflection be a gentle reminder that faith blooms through time spent in God's word.
Simply Beautiful
Courage in the Face of Fear
What gives ordinary people the strength to face extraordinary challenges with peace and confidence? Discover the source of true courage through the remarkable story of John and Betty Stamm, missionaries in China who, in December 1934, faced execution with supernatural calm. Their final letter, written just days before being beheaded for their faith, reveals a profound peace that defies human understanding.
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Welcome to Simply Beautiful Podcast. This is Amy Keck. Thank you for joining me today. The topic today is courage. Isaiah 41, 10 says Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Amy Keck:This letter from China was written on December 6th of 1934 and it says To our dear brothers in Shanghai today in Genji, my wife, child and I fell into the hands of the communists. My wife, child and I fell into the hands of the communists. They demand a ransom of $20,000 for our release. They have already taken all our possessions, but our hearts are at peace and we are thankful to the Lord for this small meal we were given tonight. May God grant you wisdom to know how to handle this, and may he grant us courage and peace. Nothing is impossible to him, even at this time. He is our marvelous friend.
Amy Keck:Things happened all too quickly this morning. Many rumors in the past days have been reality at last. Nevertheless, the Red Army took the city in only two or three hours. There was really no time to prepare. It was already too late. May God bless and lead you. As for us, whether by life or by death. May God be glorified, yours in the Lord John Stamm. Then, only two days later, on December the 8th, john and Betty were stripped of their outer clothing, their hands tied behind their backs, and they were paraded through the town by soldiers, leaving their three-month-old daughter in hiding. Frightened locals were forced to watch as the devoted couple were led outside of the town to Eagle Hill. Amongst the crowd was a Chinese Christian who stepped forward to plead with the soldiers to spare John and Betty. He was then forced to join them. The crowd gathered around as they reached the summit where the three believers in Jesus Christ were beheaded.
Amy Keck:You can have courage when I am, is your God. Isaiah 41, 10 said fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. God will strengthen his children.
Amy Keck:It's difficult to understand how any individual could face a situation like this with courage. I have trouble getting the courage to sometimes share even a tiny snippet of faith without any threat of persecution or opposition. Yet when I read stories like these, I can't help but desire that same kind of yielded courage. Psalm 27, 1 says the Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? You know, my four-year-old daughter is starting to become scared of the dark and it's impressive how much courage floods her room by plugging in a single nightlight.
Amy Keck:On a far grander scale, god's light delivers us from the darkness of this evil world. From the darkness of this evil world. It is his strength that saves us. It is also his strength that alleviates our fears and it's his strength that gives us courage. We can entrust him with our worries, our finances, our children, our health and especially our futures, because he cares for us. He offers peace that surpasses all understanding and, according to Philippians 4, 6, and 7, it's a type of peace that guards our hearts and our minds. As children of God, we can have courage because God will strengthen us, and we can also know that God will help us.
Amy Keck:When my dad was diagnosed with ALS, I immediately understood what it means to fully rely upon God. Als or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, it's a progressive neurodegenerative disease. It affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. Amyotrophic comes from the Greek language A means no, myo refers to muscle and trophic means nourishment. So amyotrophic means no muscle nourishment, and when a muscle has no nourishment it atrophies or it wastes away. When voluntary muscle action is affected, people lose the ability to move, to speak, to eat and breathe.
Amy Keck:A person facing this diagnosis needs help, but God has shown me that they're not the only people that need help. We all need help. No single motor neuron can function without the help of our divine creator and sustainer. I'm reassured by Psalm 121, verse 1 through 5, where it says I lift my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved. He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper. The Lord is your shade on your right hand. God will help you as you courageously depend upon him, and God will uphold you.
Amy Keck:Betty Scott Stamm had no idea what her future would contain when she wrote thy Holy Spirit, use me as thou wilt, send me where thou wilt and work out thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever. We do not have to have the whole picture of our life planned out or figured out. The truth is, if we knew our entire story, we'd be too scared to begin in the first place. Courage is knowing what Betty Scott Stamm knew. She knew her Lord and she knew her Lord had a better plan for her life. She knew she could give herself utterly to her Lord and that she'd be his forever. She knew that her Lord would uphold her. Courage is moving ahead without the big picture. It's courage to believe in God. It's courage to believe that he will strengthen you. It's courage to believe that he will help you. It is courage to believe that he will uphold you with his righteous right hand.
Amy Keck:So if you find that you lack courage, I would like to encourage you to do three things. I would begin by asking God to forgive you for living in fear and second, I would ask God to strengthen you, to help you and to uphold you concerning whatever it is that terrifies you. And lastly, I would write Isaiah 41, 10 on a note card and commit it to memory. Trust me, this is a verse that you will need again and again and again. This is a verse that you will need again and again, and again. I'd like to leave you with one of my poems, entitled the Invitation Arrives. Shouldering trepidations pulling me down, suffocating nervousness, shortening my breath. The invitation arrives. Come close, my child. Lean on me, trust me, place your weight of confidence upon my chest, lie alongside my bosom. Receive true peace. Tis the way you will find strength, my bosom. Receive true peace. Tis the way you will find strength. I hope this encourages you today. Thank you so much for joining me.
