"Be strong and
courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore
to their fathers to give them.” Joshua
1:6
Following Christ is not for the weak.
Anyone who will follow Christ fully must be prepared to act in the teeth
of worldly wisdom and must value the Lord’s work as necessary. There are scripture pictures of courage that
reveal the kind of faith it takes to follow God.
One definition of courage displayed from scripture is following difficult instructions in the
face of danger. Gideon’s Band was
certainly not the army Gideon thought he would have. The LORD said to Gideon, "I will
deliver you with the 300 men who lapped and will give the Midianites into your
hands; so let all the other
people go, each man to his home." Judges 7:7 God wanted it to be clear that He
was the One who was the victor.
Another definition of courage shown
in scripture is confronting an opponent
with the confidence that you will ultimately succeed regardless of your size or
strength measured against the opponent.
And David said,
"The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of
the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." And Saul
said to David, "Go, and may the LORD be with you." 1 Samuel 17:37
While the "victory" has
been won, there is still the necessity of fighting the "battles" in
order to experience God's victory in our lives.
To confront the world around us with the gospel demands a "holy
boldness" that many find lacking in their lives. Fear that we cannot succeed is overcome by
properly understanding God's plan and recognizing His provision for its
accomplishment.
God said to Joshua, "Moses My servant is dead; now
therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which
I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel.
Joshua 1:2 Joshua was not Moses and needed personal
affirmation from God of His presence and call.
Joshua could not "do" as Moses because of his own gifts and personality
- But he could accomplish God's desire. Notice this principle as we review this
passage…
· The Courage of the Christian comes by
recognizing that he is accomplishing God's work. "Every place on which the sole of your foot
treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. From the wilderness
and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the
land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun
will be your territory. No man will be able to stand before you all the days of
your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail
you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people
possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. We often
feel that victory is our responsibility instead of God's. Joshua 1:3-6
God clearly stated that He was GIVING
the land to those bold enough to advance upon it. Courage on our part is boldness to claim more than it is power to conquer. God gave the promise of power in through His
presence. Our fear comes as a result of
measuring OUR strength against the task instead of GOD’S POWER. God has not called us not to test our
strength, but His. The Christian who
clearly understands that He is doing GOD'S WORK in GOD'S POWER has a new source
of courage.
Note in our scripture for today that
even Jesus was dependent on the Father’s power.
Scripture to Claim:
Therefore Jesus answered
and was saying to them, "Truly, truly, I say
to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the
Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.” John 5:19
