STRENGTH AND COURAGE
Joshua 1:1-9

After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, the Lord spoke to Joshua, “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.” (Joshua 1:5) Christians often quote this by personalizing it to themselves “The Lord will not live me nor forsake me”. Indeed and in truth, God will never leave His own, except if His own disown Him by living outside of His promise. It is a great blessing to have God on our side; however, God’s blessing is rooted in conditions that have to be met before the blessing manifests itself. It would not have happened for Joshua if he had failed to operate under the conditions that were laid down for the manifestation of the promise of God’s blessing not to leave him or forsake him. The sixth verse came with conditions that will make God not leave him or forsake him. Joshua 1:6, “Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.” Without being strong and courageous, Joshua would not have been able to observe what the law requested him to. One can only be strong when the joy of the Lord is in place in one’s life. Nehemiah 8:10, “…For the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Having joy in the Lord is the evidence of fully trusting Him regardless of any confronting situation. Courage is to have no fear. Courage is to shut fear down and open up to faith. Faith is what provokes the move of God’s hand not to fear. God constantly reminded Joshua not to fear at every move that was made by Joshua. Joshua 10:8, “And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear them…”” Joshua 11:6, “ But the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid because of them…” God wanted to have Joshua succeed and He was constantly reminding Joshua, because when fear is able to block out faith, faith will be shut down, and God is not pleased without faith. Joshua was able to succeed in the calling of his life because he was able to do all that the Lord had told him. With strength and courage, the grace to observe the word will lead to doing what the Lord had said. The word that He spoke to Joshua is also speaking to us to, “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.” (Joshua 1:7)