Be Strong and Courageous

 Joshua 1:1-9

 

This story from the life of Joshua gives us the perfect picture of the commitment we must have if we are to accomplish great things for the Kingdom of God. It also lets us know why we often fail to accomplish those great things.

 

1:1 “Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying,”

1:2 “Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.”

 

Regardless of who we are, there will come a time when we must step out in faith and walk with God without anyone there to hold our hand. Ultimately, the life we live before God is between our own heart and the heart of God. No one else can answer for our actions, and no one else can remove the consequences of those actions.

Joshua had lost his mentor. Until this time, Joshua had been a follower more than a leader. It was easier to lead when Moses was there to help answer the tough questions. It is always easy to make decisions, correct problems, or say what needs to be done if you aren’t involved in the front lines of the fight. In the thick of the battle, though, it isn’t so easy to see or make those quick decisions when you come to realize that every word you speak, every action you take, and every command you give can mean the difference between life and death. In the church, this is even more damaging when you realize that the decision doesn’t mean just life on earth but can cause the eternal loss of a soul.

There is a statement that I read once that said this, “When in charge, ponder. When in trouble, delegate. When in doubt, mumble.”

That little statement contains so much truth. A leader never wants to appear indecisive or admit he doesn’t know the answer. They will sit and think about a situation for a long time, hoping that it will solve itself in the meantime. They get in trouble for either making a decision too quickly without knowing all the facts and then they try to put the blame on anything but our own inadequacies. The last portion of that saying is the truest of all. If they don’t know what to do or have an answer, so, they say anything but not loud enough to sound like they are giving instructions. They just mumble and let those around them work it out the best way they can.

Then, when it comes out right, they love to jump up, take the recognition, and claim that they solved the problem. God help us when we don’t have the courage to say those words that every man finds nearly impossible to say when asked a question, “I DON’T KNOW!”

Joshua found himself alone with God and responsible for the fulfillment of the destiny of the nation of Israel. God’s command and promise of a land that they would occupy as their own still stood true, and yet Joshua knew the fickle nature of the Jews.

In his heart, Joshua may have felt a lot like the baby whale who heard his mother say, "When you get to the top and start letting off steam, that’s the time you’re most apt to be harpooned."

This nation of people had failed in their first attempt to obey God and possess the land God had promised, and now they were here for their second opportunity to obey. Joshua knew that this time, it was do or die because he would never survive another 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. Israel had to go over the Jordan River and conquer Canaan, or there would most likely never be an Israel again, and God would have to raise up another people to call His own.

Have you ever been to a point in your spiritual life where you knew that you had been here before, a kind of “spiritual de-ja-vu?” How many times has God brought us to the “Jordan” and told us to go over, and we fell back in doubt and fear?

God never saves a soul with the intention of allowing that soul to be lost in the end. He paid a terrible price for our salvation, and He wants us all to be blessed beyond measure. He desires for all of us to take up our cross and follow Him to the end.

Can you hear yourself asking, “God, why do I keep failing repeatedly? Why, Lord, must I face the same old friends, the same old temptations, the same set of circumstances and fail every time I face them? God why can’t I move on and become more stable in my walk with you? Why can’t I live a more sanctified and holy life? Why am I so unstable?”

I believe that if we follow the commands of God to Joshua and Joshua’s example in obeying those commands, we will quit riding the roller coaster life of failure and victory, and we will be victorious in all things. If we just learn to listen and obey.

Understand that God never changes his command to us. Once the Spirit of God speaks direction into the heart of a man, that direction never changes. God had commanded Moses to take the Children of Israel into the Promised Land, and Moses had failed and was not allowed to lead them over. But Joshua was to continue the work for the command had not changed and the promise of God had not failed. Now, Joshua was to complete the task that God had commanded.

God has given each of us a command to follow Him. He has instructed us to take the land and win souls for Him. He may have done so through a command to teach, to preach, to witness on the streets, to witness to our own family, to work in some capacity in the church, or any combination of these things. Still, He has commanded us to occupy until He comes, and that means work, not sit idle or do nothing. This means that He has chosen each of us to take up the gauntlet and see the work go forth that those who came before us were unable to complete in their lifetime.

I can tell you this. There are times when you will begin to move out in obedience to God’s commands, and you know that God has given you the authority and the ability to accomplish the work He has called you to do. Even so, I sometimes feel like General John Galvin, Supreme Allied Commander in Europe and Commander-in-Chief of U.S. European Command, was asked what it was like to be in charge of so many various forces. His reply: "I often feel like the director of a cemetery. I have a lot of people under me, but nobody listens."

 

1:3 “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.”

1:4 “From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.”

1:5 “There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.”

 

As you can see, God’s command to Joshua was to carry on the work that was begun by Moses. Now Joshua had to look to God for answers, for no man could give him the help that was available from God. When God gives you a job to do, He will also equip you for the challenges of that job. Someone said, "Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks."

I must make the point at this time that Joshua was not manipulating people or jockeying for the position of leader of Israel. God gave Joshua this position only after Joshua had proven for many years as a follower and obedient servant to the man that God had put over him. Joshua left Egypt with Moses over 40 years before.

Too many times, we want God to place us in a position of authority and put us in the limelight of ministry without paying the price of being a follower and learning the lessons of leadership first. God never works that way. We must be faithful in many small things before God can allow us to be responsible for many things, especially the souls of His people.

 

1:6 “Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.”

1:7 “Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.”

Since God’s plan requires courage you will have to depend upon him and face the challenges of life and win over them if you would experience God’s best for your life. It is easier to have courage when you know what the purpose of God is in your life!

I have discovered that a lot of people I talk to claim to be strong spiritually, but every time I see them, they are down in the dumps about something. I feel like telling them, “If you are so strong and victorious in your life, why don’t you let your attitude reflect it and your face show it?”

I realize that we all have bad times and bad days. But we must have courage and faith, and trust in God that it will all be right. We should pick our heads up and live on victoriously.

In verse 7, I believe that we can see the real reason that so many people live such wishy-washy Christian lives. They are up one day and down the next, living large one day and under their circumstances the next! Do you see the reason?

We must observe to obey all of God’s commands, not just those we like. Most people read the Ten Commandments and say to themselves, like the Rich Young Ruler in Matthew 19, “All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?”

Jesus told him to give up everything and follow Me, and the young ruler could not, for he was too self-centered and focused on the material things of this life. He wanted to live life on his terms and not God’s.

We must not focus on this life, our desires, our ambitions, our goals, our likes or dislikes. We must focus on God’s commands and move out! We must not turn to the right to see even that which is good and yet will turn us from God’s chosen path. We must not turn to the left or any other direction and chase after the pleasures and possessions of this present world, forgetting that it shall all perish. Put on your spiritual blinders and resist temptation. Keep yourself from the very appearance of evil, and you won’t face so much temptation. Keep the blinders on and your eyes on Jesus and the prize of eternal life.

 

1:8 “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

1:9 “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”

 

Here is the key to ultimate victory in our daily walk with God. We should keep the Laws of God in our hearts and minds all the time. We must learn to meditate upon the Word, chew it up, digest it, and allow it to change us from day to day.

We will only have a prosperous life and experience good success if we stay in the Word of God and obey its commands. We must stay true to the call of God. We must focus only on His will for our lives. Only when our will and our desires begin to coincide with the will and desires of God will we really experience “the good life” and have good success in our work for Him.

Finally, let me exhort you. Just as God spoke the words, “Be strong and of good courage,” to Joshua three times, He is speaking those same words to us right now. Don’t allow fear, doubt, and frustration to sidetrack your work for God. Step out in faith, trusting God for the victory. Learn to be a good follower so that God can make you into a great leader. Then, go out with courage and face the challenges of ministry to accomplish great works for the Kingdom of God.

 God is with you wherever you go and whatever you do for Him. Since God is with us and helping us, how can we fail? We can do nothing else but have good success. “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32).