Strong and Courageous

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."                              Joshua 1:9.  NKJV

We can meditate on fear and accept it, as we saw yesterday. When we do, we're listening to the wrong source - we are listening to a lie from the devil. Moses had died and Joshua took over from him. God told him to take the Israelites with him and cross over the River Jordan, into Canaan - the Promised Land. 

Joshua had been there forty years earlier, with Caleb and the other spies that Moses had sent out. They had encountered giants and even though Joshua and Caleb gave a good report, that it was safe to go over there, the others gave a bad report, so the journey had been cancelled. 
Now forty years later, Joshua was to head back with a new generation of Israelites. 

This brought up several concerns for Joshua. What would it be like? Would it have changed much? Would the giants be even bigger than they were before - even more threatening? Would he and Caleb see good in the land once again? Questions needing answers.

Joshua was apprehensive about all of this and the thought of leading such a massive load of people. He was the leader; could he do it? Would it just be a repeat of last time, where the people refused to go? 
God sensed Joshua's apprehension and began to encourage him, telling him that he was well able to carry out this task and that, He Himself, would be right beside him. He would be able to achieve this.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."                              Joshua 1:9.  NKJV

He then told him the most important bit:

"This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe 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."    Joshua 1:8

Regarding this verse, Hazel Howard says, 'By sticking to the criteria, 'You will make your way prosperous and you will have good success. ' It doesn't say God will do it for us. It is down to us; we determine our future'.       Hazel Howard 2002

We are the ones that must put our feet down and tread the water. When we do, God will be right there to accompany us and help in all we do. However, the important part is that we MUST, read the Word of God - the bible. We must devour it, expound it and meditate on it. How can we know what to do unless we look at the book of rules - the blue print of Heaven. It is our atlas, our road map and without it we will fall by the wayside pretty quickly. With it, we will make our way prosperous and be successful. Now this doesn't mean walking round with a nice, new leather bible that cost a fortune and occasionally having a glance at it. No, it means reading it every day, sometimes all of the day; seeking God's wisdom on what He has just shown you in His Word and acting on it. 

You need to speak God's words, not your own, otherwise you can negate what God has said to you by speaking out or listening to negative words. Be careful what you tell people. If they're not full of God's Spirit, chances are, they won't understand what you're doing. Stick with the ones who will pray for you and support you. 

What is going on in your life today? Whatever it is, you can do this. I'll say it again, you can do this. But you need the prosperity and success; the strength and courage that comes only from God. Meditate on God's Word today and then go out and take what God is giving you. Just be strong and courageous!

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com