BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS!
BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS!
Be strong and courageous… —Joshua 1:6
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. —Joshua 1:8-9
Only be strong and courageous. —Joshua 1:18
We have no strength of our own, “But you, LORD, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly to help me” (Psalm 22:19). Yes, indeed, “The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1). Courage and fear cannot operate at the same time. Courage overcomes fear and fear will dissipate.
We are commanded to be strong in the Lord— “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” This is only can be as we “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesian 6:10-11). So we are commanded to be both “strong and courageous.” But this can only be so if we have the armor of God on! —
Have on “the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. —Ephesians 6:14-18
To “be strong and courageous” can only happen as we are clothed in the armor of God, ready to do spiritual battle. The spiritual soldier of Jesus will ponder His Word and be obedient to His will. Success will come through carefully applying His Word to life. So, “do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Brother and sister, fellow follower of Jesus, Jesus said the same thing to us as He did to Joshua—
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” —Matthew 28:19-20
As Jesus was with Joshua as he was sent into the land of Canaan, so too He is with us as we “go and make disciples of all nations.” He said, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” and “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). There is where our strength and courage come from! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pp1h1f9gK-Y
Dear Father, oh that I would depend on You for strength and courage. May this be so by the power of Your Holy Spirit and in the authority of Your Son Jesus. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsQmsEE_2-s