Being Courageous

Joshua was preparing to lead the nation of Israel into the promise land and in so doing, he sought direction from God. Instructions that he was to pass on to the people before they began their advance. Joshua 1:6 records a simple, yet profound statement - "be strong and of good courage". We need to remember that except for Joshua and Caleb, most of these were born while wandering in the wilderness and what they have experienced for the last 40 years has been death and defeat. Where do they find the experience to draw upon to be courageous? Where would they find their strength as another major change is about to take place in their lives? They would follow Joshua. But, wait, Joshua was just a man just like them, except he was an old man. How could they do that? One thing that became increasing clear was that Joshua was following God, so for them to follow Joshua was the same as following God. They understood that what they heard coming from the lips of Joshua was actually coming from the heart of God. It wasn't their strength that they were relying upon, it was the power of God. It would be several hundred years before the Holy Spirit would inspire Paul to write to the church in Philipi, "I can do all things through Christ which strengthenth me". Phil 4:13 Several years ago, my wife had a small chiuahua dog. One day, as we were standing outside on the porch, a big cat came walking down the sidewalk, just minding it's own business. This ferocious dog went tearing out to the sidewalk and began running around this cat that could take her nose of with a single swipe of it's paw. Ignored completely by the cat, the dog contined to bark and occasionally look to make sure we were still standing there. While she was making another lap around the cat, we quietly slipped into the house and watched through the window as she looked our direction. She actually did a double take when she saw we weren't there and came running to the house a quickly as possible. Why? Because her source of strength, our presence, was gone. To us it was hilarious, but I am quite sure it wasn't to her. My point is this - we can find our strenth and courage in the presence of God and He will always be there. So, no matter what you are facing "Be strong of good courage".