Be Strong and Courageous

"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 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 1:6-9

Do you ever worry about the future – what to do, where to go, or how you will get through a tough time? If you are anything like me, the daily grind of this world can take a heavy toll on your faith if you’re not careful. Even though both Philippians 4:6-7 and Matthew 6:25-34 tell us to worry about nothing and that God will take care of all our needs, the negativity of this world tempts us to get down and fret about how we are going to make it - and if anyone even cares if we do make it.

In the Scriptures above we see that Joshua faced the same temptation. He was leading a nation of people who lacked faith – they were often cowards, grumblers, and all too frequently naysayers. Joshua’s job was to lead these people to conquer a land filled with many nation occupying fortified cities. The odds were strongly against him. And failure meant the death of millions.

So God commands Joshua to “be strong and courageous”, obey the law, and to focus on the end goal – to “not turn from it to the right or to the left.” He tells Joshua to not let the law depart from his mouth, but rather to meditate upon it day and night. The command to "meditate" upon it (v. 8) means to make it the basis for daily and lifelong plans.

As with most all commands in the Bible, they come with a promise: Joshua will be prosperous and successful. And God tells him why he will be prosperous and successful: because God will be with him wherever he goes.

What a great source of encouragement for us today: Be strong and courageous, obey God, meditate upon the Scriptures, focus on the end goal – do not veer off from what God has called you to do no matter how impossible it seems. If we do these things, then we too (like Joshua), will be prosperous and successful because God will be with us wherever we go.

Please comment below or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com