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?
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