“Have I not commanded you? 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)
God has commanded us
to be strong and courageous. It is
necessary and worthy. We cannot allow
fear to grip our heart and influence our decision making. We must obey the Lord and stay strong and
courageous. We know Joshua was courageous because he wanted to go into the
promised land the first time they spied it out. He was confident they could
take it, even if there were giants in the land. Joshua's confidence was not in
his own ability, but in God's ability.
God promised that He
would be with Joshua as He had been with Moses. He would not leave nor forsake
him. The result would be that no one would be able to stand before him throughout
his whole life – i.e., no one could withstand or successfully oppose him in the
work he did for the Lord. Because of God’s protection and provision, Joshua
would succeed in bringing Israel into the promised land. God gave him this task
and assured him it could be done. This would fulfill the promise to Abraham and
the fathers to give this land to them (see notes above).
However, the promise
was conditional. There were things Joshua would need to do to be successful.
Remember, Israel had attempted to do this once before but failed because of fear
[Num. 13:31,33; 14:6-9]. So three times God told Joshua to “be
strong and of good courage.
We too have our fair share of problems. The many challenges in life, the trying circumstances, the heavy responsibilities have made us discouraged and fearful. But fear not, nothing is of greater encouragement than having the assurance that God will help us to accomplish them.
“Often the test of courage is not to die but to live.” (Alfieri Orestes)
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