“My loving people, we have been persuaded by some…to take heed how we commit ourselves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I assure you, I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear; I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good will of my subjects.”
She said this on the eve of England facing the Spanish Armada in 1588. There’s a lot in her comments, but one key thought is that even though some people warn against moving into conflict for fear of suffering or facing some other type of treachery from those close to you….the courage must be instead to lean into the situation, even if that means a season of conflict. And, secondly, the key for Elizabeth’s courage is not in her armies or navies, but in the community of her citizens. Certainly, those people were not necessarily her “friends” or “close relationships,” but the principle holds true. So, as you face your own challenges, or perhaps as we face the challenge of national crisis, her point becomes a question for you: can you too place your “chiefest strength and safeguard” in the “loyal hearts and good will” of your friends?
If so, then rejoice.
If not, determine today to invest time and effort into building relationships that will matter.