Be Strong and Courageous
By Amanda Idleman
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:9
God gave Joshua this command as he was being called to take a huge leap of faith. Moses had died, and the Israelites had not yet made it to the promised land. Joshua had spent many years as Moses’ assistant but now had to step up to lead the Israelites into the land of Canaan. Joshua was commanded to have boldness by God. God’s words to Joshua actually highlight his weakness. They point to Joshua’s need for strength, bravery, confidence, and faith through this unsure time. God graciously spoke directly to Joshua’s inner fears. This mighty leader needed encouragement.
In order for Joshua and the Israelites to make it to the promised land, they had to physically walk forward into a new place. It was then that the people were able to experience the fulfilled promise of God. Breakthrough requires a step of faith. Sometimes it’s physically moving from one place to another. Other times it’s doing the work to find healing through counseling or through forgiveness. It can be a stretching gift. It’s saying ‘yes’ to the unknown, even when you are afraid because you know the Holy Spirit is leading you forward. You trust him with the outcome.
In order to see God’s plans come to pass in our lives, we have to be willing to partner with him. God uses those bold steps of faith to bring Heaven down to Earth! Thankfully, God promises to be with us every step of the sometimes very scary way. His word days in Joshua 1:5, “ I will not leave you nor forsake you.” You are never alone, out on that limb!
Without those faith-stretching moments that propel us forward, we may never get the chance to see the fullness of what God has for us in our lives. God promises to be with us, but he doesn’t promise that things will be easy. I like to call these 'trust falls' into God’s arms our sloppy starts! We don’t have all the answers, yet we enthusiastically lunge forward toward God’s best for our lives. God may be asking you to embrace a ‘sloppy start’ in order to get unstuck in your spiritual life. God doesn’t require perfection for him to move in our lives, but he does ask us to present ourselves to him as living sacrifices for his will to be done.
Notice that in the passage from Joshua, God doesn’t say move forward Joshua and I promise that everything will work out perfectly. God’s commands were aimed at Joshua’s character. He knew the strength Joshua needed to be faithful to God’s plan.
Are you waiting for God to tell you the end result before beginning?
As people, we want assurances. We are willing to act if we know what we are getting. God usually does not work this way. He tells us how to be; he may even show us how to start, but usually doesn’t tell us what is going to come. This can make being a Christ follower very frustrating! We feel God moving us toward a new direction for our lives, but our fear holds us back because in our minds, the fear of failure is something that keeps us from moving.
Yet, we serve a God that calls us to be faith-filled, not successful. The goal is to get to the end of our lives and hear “well done good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23), not “way to go, you won at life, you made the money and enjoyed success.” Living a life with faithfulness as the goal and not success as our primary goal is radical.
Intersecting Faith and Life:
Where in your life is God asking you to take a step of faith? What is holding you back from entering his promised land for your life? How has God asked you to be ‘strong and courageous in the midst of so many scary unknowns? Write a list of how God is speaking to you about these things. Pray over it and begin to take one step forward toward God’s best for your life with his help.
Further Reading
Photo credit: Unsplash/the_modern_life_mrs
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Related Resource: How Habit Stacking Will Help You Discipline Your Mind, Body, & Spirit
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