Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Joshua‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬

Courage isn’t the absence of fear, it’s the action taken in spite of fear. In fact, it only exists with fear.

The illusion I had for a long time didn’t even make sense—that there was a level you’d reach at some point where you were simply no longer afraid of stuff.

This is true to a point—we do outgrow fear. And we even outgrow fear after courageously walking through it a few times.

But fear is, as the Big Book puts it, “an insidious thread”. It seems to find its way into every part of our life in some way or another. It weaves in and out and loves uncertainty and darkness.

This is a lifetime affair. How are we to be strong and courageous in the face of a broken world full of uncertainty, misfortune and temptation?

This is where one day at a time becomes more than a motto. When we establish the daily habits of the basics of sobriety and spiritual living, what we’re really doing is setting up a fortress against the snares of the enemy.

Our strength comes from prayer and meditation, from the quiet time we learn to spend with the Lord.

It comes too from fellowship and communion with our fellows as we learn what it means to be a friend and allow others to get to know us.

Our courage comes from carrying the steps and the teachings of scripture into our lives in moments at a time.

It comes from the track record we build in the quiet, uneventful, everyday victories of living in reliance upon God rather than our vices.

We want to change, and we want to change now.

Sometimes we are overrun by the blessings of sobriety, and we seem to be changing for the better in front of our very eyes.

Usually, though, we develop this courage and strength slowly, at the pace of a full life.

God, keep me on pace and on target.