Fortitude

Fortitude 

The Virtue of Fortitude is to do the right thing even amid hardship. Fortitude enables you to overcome obstacles, threats, sufferings, difficulties and fears in pursuing the good

The primary fear which fortitude helps us overcome is the fear of death. Fortitude is the virtue of the soldier willing to give his life to save his people. Fortitude is the virtue of the Christian who is willing to sacrifice what is lesser for the sake of what is greater, and the greatest thing is union with God and heaven.  

Christianity is about overcoming death.

Hebrews chapter 2:14-15 says Christ defeated Satan, since “by his death he could take away all the power of the devil, who had power over death, and set free all those who had been held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death.”

Whatever we do we are either obeying God or Satan. The person you obey is by definition your Master. By obeying Satan, all of us sinners have chosen him as our Master. The way Satan rewards us for our obedience is death. As Paul writes in Romans, “The wages of sin is death.”

Then Jesus, who is innocent, who does not deserve to be paid in death, goes to battle Satan. Satan sets in motion the process of the crucifixion by entering into the heart of Judas to betray the Lord, which is a catalyst for the passion and death of Jesus. Satan had no right to do put Jesus to death because Christ was innocent and by so doing Satan forfeited his right to Jesus and because Jesus was joined to all humanity, Satan lost his right to all humans who willing turn to God. 

Jesus’ defeat of Satan

By Jesus’ death he defeated the Prince of Death, Satan, who by the fear of death had kept us in slavery to him. Jesus set us free from the fear of death by defeating Satan and breaking his hold on us. 

What this means is that if we are attached in a disordered way to the good things of this life, Satan can use that as leverage by tempting us to commit this or that sin or you will lose this worldly thing.

But if you have no fear of death because you realize death is not so much the loss as the gain heaven and every good thing imaginable, if you do not fear the loss of the good things of this world then Satan has no power, no leverage with you – he can’t tempt you to sin. 

You don’t have to fear death

If you don’t fear death, and death means losing all good things at once. If you can let go of all the good things, and you should be able to let go of anything of this life, which is true for you and for the people you love. We can’t be afraid for our children to die. That is what we say when we have them baptized – we give them to God – they belong to Him. We do not even fear the death of those we love because we trust in the Savior, we trust in Jesus Christ to raise them from the dead and they will live forever in glory. With this attitude, Satan can do nothing to you because you have no fear of death. No Satan can threaten you with nothing. And you will be completely free to live the liberation that Hebrews 2 talks about. 

Radical freedom

In this way fortitude enables radical freedom by overcoming the fear of death and everything that implies…ready to lose all good things at once or any of them individually. 

Satan says, “You should do this or I’ll spoil your reputation or ruin you financially or you lose your health or whatever.” And we respond, “I am ready to die because I place my hope of Jesus and Heaven for myself and my loved ones.”  

All stress and anxiety comes from the fear of losing some good thing. Fortitude conquers that fear and liberates us from not only fear of death but it also liberates us from all stress and anxiety. 

Fortitude lies between the two extremes of cowardice and brashness 

Cowardice is when a person is dominated or paralyzed by fear of loss 

Brashness in which we take imprudent risks, meaning he risks things for no good reason. He risks what is much greater for the sake of what is much lesser. 

Fortitude prompts a person to take prudent risks; while brashness prompts us to take stupid risks.