Be Strong and Courageous

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Joshua 1:7

Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.

NKJV

Moses has died and the people of Israel are on the brink if entering into the Promised Land.  They have been wandering in the wilderness for 40 years and with the rebellious generation gone except for Joshua and Caleb, there must have been a great feeling of anticipation among the people.  However, for Joshua, there must have also been great fear for Moses left giant shoes for Joshua to fill hence, God’s words of encouragement to Joshua.

Fast forward a few thousand years and we see Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane uttering the following words. 

Matthew 26:35

He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will."

NKJV

Jesus too finds Himself on the brink of leading humanity into the Promised Land of salvation through his brutal death burial and resurrection on the cross.  Jesus death for us while we were yet sinners (Romans 5:8) demonstrates his love for us as well as great courage.  The disciples also demonstrated great courage by not renouncing their faith when facing death, something many continue to face today. 

The source of courage for each of these individuals is their faith in an all-powerful God through which we can do all things (Philippians4:13).  In the challenging times the people of God find themselves in today, we must tap into this source of courage.  In other words, we as the children of God must connect with our God through prayer and His Word as well as connecting with each other. 

I, like most of you reading this, have a busy life.  As such, it is sometimes difficult to find time to pray and study God’s Word.  However, I find it interesting that no matter how busy our lives become, we always seem to find time to eat and nourish our bodies.  Deuteronomy 8:3 reminds us that we do not live by just bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.  In other words, without feeding on the Word of God, we do not have full nutrition in our lives and become malnourished.  So important is this aspect of our nourishment that Jesus, after spending 40 days fasting, used this passage of scripture against Satan (Matthew 4:4, Luke 4:4). 

Here are some tips I have found useful in making daily Bible Study and prayer a part of my life

1)      Set aside a time and place to be with God.  This does not need to be hours of time for even 15 to 20 minutes a day in the Word praying with our Creator can accomplish great things in our lives.  Make sure your place is a quiet place free from distractions, enabling you to focus on God and His Word.  I also find that listening to quiet worship music is helpful.

2)      Continue the conversation with God throughout the day.  God lives in us through the Holy Spirit and as such never leaves us.  I am not calling on us to speak aloud with God throughout the day for that would look weird and may even end up with someone trying to commit you.  What I am talking about is carrying on a conversation with God in our hearts.  Not only does this continual conversation bring peace and comfort in our hearts but also pleases God who wants to hear from His children.

3)      Make praying and speaking the Word of God your initial reflex action when trouble comes.  As we read about the temptation of Christ, we see that each time Satan attacked Jesus, he quoted Scripture to stop the attack (Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12,13, Luke 4:1-13).  We can only develop this reflex action of prayer and quoting scripture as we study the Word and make prayer a continual habit.  As a young person, I used to play sports.  My two favorite sports to play were basketball and baseball.  In order to excel at these sports, I would spend time practicing to hone my skills.  Studying the Word and praying are how we hone our spiritual skills, preparing us for spiritual warfare. 

Another example of courageous faith is the students murdered at the community college in Oregon.  We now know that the shooter murdered these people after telling the shooter they were Christians.  Some may say they should have remained silent or answered no but that is not what courageous faith is all about.  Jesus could have refused to go to the cross but did not for had He done so, we could not have salvation from our sins. 

We all hope we will never be faced with having to be martyred for our faith.  However, if the question comes up, I for one will answer yes and if it means my premature death, I will be with the Lord. 

These are challenging times for us as Christians but they are not too much for our God.  As we hone our spiritual skills by connecting with God through prayer and His Word, as well as connecting with other believers, we will become prepared for any and all attacks Satan may throw at us. 

We need strong and courageous people in these challenging times.  We must have courageous men and woman like Joshua full of courage from their faith in God who look at the challenges ahead and know that their God can do all things and will lead them to victory.  The question is will we answer the challenge.