Strong and Courageous: Joshua 1:6-9

One of my favourite passages of Scripture is the Lord's encouragement to Joshua in chapter 1:6-9 of his book. It says,

"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 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 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." (NLT)

This is quite the pep talk! But I imagine that after Moses' death, Joshua needed it. I can only imagine the bewilderment Joshua must have felt being thrust into this leadership position after the death of his friend, leader and mentor. Then he was called to continue to lead Israelites on their journey to the promised land. This meant that they would have to take on all kinds of enemies. I mean talk about intimidating!

It is so easy for us to succumb to fear and intimidation in our own lives, but I believe that the Lord is with us just as He was with Joshua. THREE TIMES the Lord says, 'be strong and courageous!' We need to hear this because all too often we look at the 'enemy's territory' and are frozen with fear.

It is only the presence of God that can give us true confidence despite this kind of adversity. So, it makes me think, 'Am I afraid to storm into the enemy's territory?' I shouldn't be! Do I pray courageous prayers for those who don't have a personal relationship with Jesus? And what about those who many write off as 'hopeless cases?'

Am I strong and courageous enough to make the most of every opportunity to share Christ with others? What about when the opportunity isn't so obvious? Sometimes it's not so convenient to share Christ, but we don't know the outcome. We just need to be obedient!

We learn from this passage in Joshua that we will only be successful when we are both obedient to God's Word and living with the courage that comes from knowing God is near.