Strong and Courageous

“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 The last few days, I have been reading through the book of Joshua. We can all agree Joshua was one of the greatest leaders of the Old Testament. We see how he served faithfully under Moses, how he trusted God, and how he led Israel to take back the land they were promised. We know all of his great victories. I just want to point one thing out - we know all of these stories because we can look back at history. We have the luxury of sitting safely in our homes or in Starbucks (after COVID…) and reading in about an hour or two the stories that covered the entirety of Joshua’s life. It’s easy to believe in victory when you know how the story ends. I wonder a lot about the prayer lives of the heroes of the faith, especially those in the OT. As many details as we are given, there have to be so many that were left out. Why? I wish I knew. It would be oddly comforting to me to know that there were moments that Joshua walked out of his tent, stared up at the sky and cried with the weight of leading Israel. Maybe he lost dear friends, brothers, cousins… every Israelite life mattered to him. How did he manage every day to get up and lead these people through another battle? I don’t think for a second that the reason that God had to tell Joshua over and over and over again to be strong and courageous was because he was crippled with fear. I think there were definitely moments he was afraid, don’t get it wrong. But he did not reside in an ATTITUDE of fear, and that matters. With an attitude of fear, you are stuck - controlled - every action determined by fear. In moments of fear, you are aware of the difficulty of the situation around you, but have faith in the One who knocks the walls of Jericho to the ground, who parts the seas for your people to walk on dry ground, who time and time again has proved Himself true. So, back to those verses: “Be strong and courageous. Don’t be discouraged. I am with you wherever you go.” To me, those are love notes from God to Joshua. Don’t laugh! Hang on. Joshua had served under Moses and watched him lead, but until Moses died, Joshua never led on his own. He never fully stepped into his calling until his most trusted earthly mentor died. After Moses’s death, Joshua then launched the biggest military advancement that the nation of Israel had seen thus far. I would also like for God to stop by and say “I’ve got your back, don’t be afraid” if I were in his shoes. He did so, over and over again, reminding Joshua that He was at the helm, directing the ship, giving Israel victory. But Joshua had a choice whether or not to believe Him. We always have choices in our lives. Every single moment. Do we choose fear? Do we choose the Waymaker? God has never once lost a battle. He may not be saying in an audible voice every day DON’T FEAR! I AM WITH YOU! But He did give you promises, He did give you the Bible, and He has proved Himself true. Stick with Him. Fear doesn’t get to win, not now or ever.