Courage...

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.

Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God

will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)

I can imagine that Joshua & the Israelites were feeling all of those things that God commanded against. They had just lost Moses and knew that they would now have to cross into the Promised Land without him. Moses was their leader and now he was gone & they had to figure out how to carry on without him. Sure, they had Joshua, but wasn't he like the #2 guy?? Could they trust him?? And what exactly would they find in this Promised Land? Would it fulfill all the hopes & dreams they had been holding out for in their many years of waiting? I'm sure they felt terrified, discouraged and anything but strong.

I was reminded of this scripture this past week while attending a church service at Christ Crusaders church on the East Side of Buffalo. You know those moments when the person preaching points out something from God's Word, usually something you've heard maybe 1,000 times, but all of the sudden, WHAM! It speaks to you... Its interesting to me that in this particular piece of scripture, God actually commands them to be strong & courageous. That's how well He knows His people. That's how in tune He is with their emotions, thoughts & hearts. As their Father, He knew that what lie ahead was going to be amazing, but they could not be afraid to take the steps forward necessary to grab hold of it. In essence, they had to trust God. So, He commands them to be STRONG and COURAGEOUS and to not be TERRIFIED or DISCOURAGED. To be perfectly honest, those last two words describe me more these days than the prior two. And that really makes me angry with myself! I want to be strong & I most definitely want to be courageous. In the face of where we still are in the financial world, things are looking grim. But like the Israelites before they crossed the Jordan, I have no idea what's lying ahead. I only know to hold fast to God's promises.

What we also see is that God makes the promise that HE would be with them wherever they would go. That alone gives me strength, and in that small bit of God's Words, I do find courage. Its a scripture that I have come back to over the last few days over & over again. I'm sure that's no accident. Sitting in the pew of Christ Crusaders Church, God allowed those words, His Words, to sink into my heart & mind. That was no accident. He knew that this week would be hard. He knew that I would be terrified of what lies ahead. He knew that that overwhelming feeling of discouragement would rear its ugly head and wash over me over & over this week. Its a daily battle, I'm not going to lie or sugar-coat it. But He commands my strength & courage...therefore He will provide it. He commands that I not be terrified nor discouraged..and then promises to be with me wherever I go. Because He also knows, that I cannot go it alone. And by stating it here, amongst His commands, He is letting us know that He never intended us to take the next step without him.

(Jordan River)