Skip to main content

Strong and Courageous (Part One)



            As the Biblical book of “Joshua” opens, God’s people are faced with two huge problems.  First, Moses, the one who had been leading their journey from slavery to the Promised Land, is dead.  Second, the journey is not finished.  The people are on the east side of the Jordan.  They can see the land, but they are not there yet.  The job of leading the people and completing the journey has now fallen on the shoulders of Joshua.

           If I was him, I was would be worried.  This is a huge job and there are many obstacles to face.  In addition to that, even the great leader Moses could not always keep these people in line.  They were hard to lead and they were easily discouraged and distracted.  Joshua had been Moses’ assistant and he had seen both the success and the struggle and so it is not surprising that God takes him aside and gives him some advice.  In fact, three times God tells Joshua to be “Strong and Courageous” and then gives him something that will help him do that in a time when he may feel neither strong nor courageous.

            The first bit of instruction that God gives him is, “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them” (Joshua 1:6).  Basically, God is telling him to “Go” and that the strength and courage that he needs will be supplied along the way.

            It sounds a little counter-intuitive at first, but it is true.  Sometimes the only way to get over your fear of something is simply to go and do it.  Many times, in my opinion, people of faith are “hamstrung” because they are waiting to feel brave before they act brave.  They are waiting to feel confident before they act confidently.  They know what they ought to do, but they want to know the outcome before they start.  The truth is that spiritual things never work that way.  If you wait until you feel “strong and courageous” you will never act.  Strength and courage come when we put our doubts and fears aside and act on the promises and commands of God.

            Joshua becomes the next great leader of God’s people, not because he has all the answers and not because he is not scared, but because he goes, leads, listens and trusts.

            The power to keep the promises of God always comes after we act on the promises of God.

            What is God asking you to do? 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dark and Light

            When you look out at the world, what do you see?             Some see nothing but trouble and pain.   They point to things like poverty, crime, problems with drugs and alcohol and marriage break-ups and say that the world is full of sadness and sorrow.   Watch the news for even a half hour and you will get the idea that the world is a dark place.             Others see nothing but good.   They appreciate generous people in their community.   They think about their friends and neighbours and smile.   They marvel at the beauty of sunrises and stars at night.   To them, the world is a bright and wonderful place.             You may be surprised that the Bible supports both of these world views.   On one hand it says things like, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the
1 comment
Read more

New Article: Five Words to Improve Your Relationships

                 In the late 1800s, it was common for railway companies to plant formal gardens beside their stations.   These gardens were filled with trees, shrubs, flowers, and fruit trees.   Sometimes they also featured a kitchen garden growing lettuce, carrots, corn, and potatoes.   Estevan’s Canadian Pacific Railway Garden was once located where Mid-City Plumbing and Heating is today.                The purpose of these gardens was to show what the land could produce.   After hours and sometimes days of riding across the featureless prairies, the railways wanted to show settlers the potential of their new home.   The gardens showed what was possible and they encouraged the settlers to transform their own land and discover its potential too.                Today’s verse acts similarly, in that it challenges us to find the potential in
Post a Comment
Read more

Forgetting What Is Behind

                   Generalizations are helpful because they show a pattern that is normally true. However, they are also dangerous because they ignore the exceptions to the rule.                  Here is my generalization:   It is a quality of the strong to be able to forget the past and move on.   The apostle Paul summarizes this idea when he states, “One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God had called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). Too often, we trip over things that are behind us.   We remember and nurse old hurts.   We rehearse mistakes that no one else recalls.   In doing so, we pull the past into the present and allow it to dictate how we feel right now.   In these cases, we would be better off “forgett
Post a Comment
Read more