“Be
strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that
I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being
careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do
not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good
success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth,
but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do
according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way
prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be
strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the
Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:6-9, ESV).
Joshua was a strong and powerful
man. He was a man willing to stand with
conviction, faith and courage when others faltered, failed and retreated in
their calling. He was a man of extraordinary patience and loyalty as he waited
for the direction and timing of the Lord before moving into the Promised Land. He
was a man of unwavering belief and complete obedience.
We see the courageous and solid faith of
Joshua and it is often noted as the mark of this great man but there is more. All faith has to have a deeper aspect than
simply a resemblance to boldness and courage.
True courage comes out of faith. What looks like courage without the foundational
substance is momentary, shallow and pride seeking. The courage of Joshua came from his deep faith
as he boldly stands in the unreasonable and unthinkable, as he obeys while waiting
a lifetime for the promises of God and carrying and sustaining him through many
battles and difficulties. None of his
life experience was easy. There had to
have been countless times of agony, pain and wondering.
Faith doesn’t automatically just rise up
on those occasions. Our faith must always
and continually be fixed on God. Joshua’s
faith was fixed on the Almighty God, he knew and trusted. Our faith must be fixed on God as well. Faith remains fixed in the struggle, in the
waiting, in the daunting, in the impossible and in the sustaining through
everything we encounter and face.
By our faith … we trust as we look back,
around and ahead. As we trust … we feel,
think and reflect. Depending on the
deepness of the circumstance, situation, problem, or difficulty … more thought
and reflection might be needed before we ever proceed ahead. Reflection is meditating and it is often a
deep place of yearning to understand, contemplation and evaluation. Our reflection
and meditating might drift around in the current of the moment but it can only
find direction in something of substance such as faith and relationship. We reflect back on experiences through remembrances,
around in assessment and forward with directive. If we stand in and on our faith, we then obey
the direction of God through His Word and His Spirit. This is where the courage
of Joshua came from and this is where the courage in our faith will come
from. You cannot venture or move into
the land of God’s promises without reflective and courageous faith. A faith that is securely fixed upon the Almighty
God we see and know and a trusting and loving relationship with Him.
Suggested Reading ... Joshua 1
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