Be strong and courageous!
Be strong and very courageous!
Be strong and courageous!
~ Joshua 1:6, 7, 9
Do you get the impression that the Lord wanted Joshua to be strong and courageous?That phrase is found throughout the Scriptures:
- Be strong and courageous! came from the lips of Moses three times.*
- We find it five times in the book of Joshua.^
- Twice David charged Solomon to be strong and courageous as he set out to build the temple.?
- David wrote, be strong and let your heart take courage in two psalms.ª
I’m guessing the Lord wants us to be strong and courageous as well!
Why is it so necessary to keep reminding us of this? Perhaps we have a natural tendency to be timid and weak. To get tired and give up. To quit when it gets tough. To think we can’t keep going.
So how do we drum up our strength and courage? Do we grit our teeth? dig deep? pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps? No. The Lord often lets us flop if we’re trying to do things in our own strength and resolve.
But once we’re ready to do it His way, He points us to the real Source of strength:
Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might! (Eph 6:10)
Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. (2 Tim 2:1)
Are you finding yourself with insufficient strength? Like Peter, are you sinking beneath the waves? Cry out to the Lord for His help and strength. I know of no biblical or extra-biblical case where someone sincerely cried to the Lord for help and He turned a deaf ear.
* Deut 11:18; 31:6, 7, 23
^ Joshua 1:6, 7, 9, 18; 10:25
? 1 Chr 22:13; 28:20
ª Ps 27:14; 31:24