“Be strong and of good courage,” is said to Joshua, by God, three times in Chapter 1 of the book of Joshua. But Joshua is not being told just to buck up. God tells Joshua to be strong and have good courage, and He gives Joshua promises of great encouragement.
- “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life….. I will not leave you nor forsake you.” v. 5
- “…you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give to them.” v. 6
- . “….do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.” v. 7
- . “…for the Lord, your God is with you wherever you go.” v.9
After this, the officers of the Israelites tell Joshua to be strong and of good courage. They are telling him that they will follow his orders just as they had followed Moses. They have pledged by their very lives. And they urge him to be strong and of good courage.
God’s Holy Word spoke to me indeed this morning. I opened my Bible to finish journaling my musings about the first chapter in Joshua, and I noticed that I had underlined this repeated phrase – “be strong and of good courage” – each time it showed up. Who knows how long ago I did this and what was happening in my life at the time!?
Today it jumped right off the page. And boy did it hit home. The recent earthquakes have reminded me of how much fear I have of them and how that fear has always existed in me. “Be strong and of good courage,” the Lord is saying to me. Sometimes life will be dangerous, scary, hard. But just as he promised Joshua each time he told him to be strong and of good courage:
- He will never leave me or forsake me. He will walk with me through even a big scary earthquake.
- There is a prize awaiting me on the other side of this life.
- He has a way for me to go — following His laws of righteousness that will bring success to me as I live His way even in all the scary times.
- He is with me wherever I go.
Being strong and courageous – deciding to be strong and courageous – will enable me to stick to that path even now when the stability of the ground beneath me and the building that surrounds me can feel so unnervingly uncertain.
I must remember that being strong and courageous is a choice just like being scared and shaky is a choice. I want to remember to not let go of His hand in order to cover my eyes or plug my ears or reach out to feel my way in the darkness of my fear. I want to keep holding on to Him and to His promises. He is with me! ALWAYS!