Impact - Day 15
Day 15 – Courage
Joshua 1:6-9 “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
As Joshua’s leadership inauguration ends in chapter one, God bolsters his confidence by challenging him three times to be strong and courageous. If it were me, this would be cause for worry. The first time I’d get it. I need to be ready. Strength and courage are required for the challenges of leadership. The second time, I’d wonder, did you think I wasn’t listening? But the third I would be concerned. What is about to happen here?
A word or two about courage might be helpful. Nelson Mandela once said:
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
It is telling that God sees repeating Himself three times as necessary. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He understands how we are ruled by fear and that we have many. Is the victory God has already miraculously provided often aborted because of our fears? Or maybe, when we fear, we wait, hoping it will pass so we can place our foot in the next space. All the while, God coaxes and reassures us, hoping we will move forward despite our trembling feet. The secret to His encouragement is also repeated.
Twice in five verses, God gives the reason we can be strong and courageous: “For I will be with you.” The word commonly translated as “for” might as well read “because.” You can be strong and courageous because God will be with you. He is the antidote to fear—not because He takes it away, but because He helps us step through it.
Joshua 1:6-9 “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
As Joshua’s leadership inauguration ends in chapter one, God bolsters his confidence by challenging him three times to be strong and courageous. If it were me, this would be cause for worry. The first time I’d get it. I need to be ready. Strength and courage are required for the challenges of leadership. The second time, I’d wonder, did you think I wasn’t listening? But the third I would be concerned. What is about to happen here?
A word or two about courage might be helpful. Nelson Mandela once said:
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
It is telling that God sees repeating Himself three times as necessary. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He understands how we are ruled by fear and that we have many. Is the victory God has already miraculously provided often aborted because of our fears? Or maybe, when we fear, we wait, hoping it will pass so we can place our foot in the next space. All the while, God coaxes and reassures us, hoping we will move forward despite our trembling feet. The secret to His encouragement is also repeated.
Twice in five verses, God gives the reason we can be strong and courageous: “For I will be with you.” The word commonly translated as “for” might as well read “because.” You can be strong and courageous because God will be with you. He is the antidote to fear—not because He takes it away, but because He helps us step through it.
- Are you more afraid of snakes, public speaking, or heights? Why do you think that is your ranking?
- What is a fear you have recently overcome or powered through? How did you do that?
- What are you facing that causes you to fear? What would you like to say to God about that? How is He responding?
By Pastor David Ferguson
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