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Strong and Courageous (Part 3)


             When Joshua became the new leader of the Israelite nation, he had to be a little worried. Moses was dead and the journey was not yet complete.  The Promised Land still had to be conquered and Joshua really did not have a lot of experience.  Therefore, to get him ready, God gave him three instructions, each of which preceded by the words “Be strong and courageous”.  Firstly he is told to “Go”.  Strength and courage would come with action.  Secondly, he is reminded to read and treasure the Law of Moses.  Knowing God’s thoughts and values would shape Joshua’s own actions and values.  The third encouragement is the subject of this article.
             
       “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). 
    
        I am convinced that “fear” and “discouragement” are two of Satan’s best tools against us.  If he can get us to be too scared to try, or if he can make us discouraged with the results, then we are sidelined.  

           I think back to when I was trying to teach my girls to ride their two-wheelers.  I would run alongside of them and say, “You are doing really well, so I am going to take my hand off the bike and let you go by yourself”.   Inevitably, they would scream, “No!  Don’t let go!” and then stop the bike so that they did not have to try to ride it alone.  Their fear was greater than their desire.  After a while, when I would get them to try it on their own, all it took was one or two little crashes and then they would be discouraged.  “I am never going to learn to ride this bike!  I can’t do it!”  Eventually, though, both of them overcame both their fear and their discouragement and learned to ride.

            In reality, their thinking had absolutely nothing to do with their ability.  In fact, they actually could ride their bike; they just didn’t think they could.
     
        Joshua (and I would argue the church today and Christians in general) was going to be as successful as he thought he was going to be.  If he let fear and discouragement rule his thinking, then he would fail.  However, if his thinking rested on the promises of God, then he would be alright.
      
       Sometimes, the real battle is not in our circumstances, but in our heads.
      
       Remember, “The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go”.

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