“Because the hand of the Lord was on me, I took courage. . .” (Ezra 7:28).

It is a rare individual, these days, who does not for some of the time, feel daunted by the myriad threats and challenges life throws up at him/her. The continual increase of anxiety and depressive disorders—and suicide—especially among the young is sad evidence of this. Even folk not diagnosed with any of the foregoing are frequently so apprehensive about life that they find it hard to get out of bed each morning. Courage! Never was a character asset so needed, so vital. How wonderful to think that we are not alone. To take courage is to receive it from the personal God, the source of all virtue.