Be Strong and Courageous

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God told Joshua over and over to be strong and courageous. He reminded him that He would be with him just as He was with Moses.

We see that by believing the promises of God, by applying the principles of God’s Word, and by counting on the presence of God, Joshua courageously moved ahead with God’s task.

In Joshua 2, we meet Rahab. Rahab was a prostitute who found faith in the God of Israel and it changed her life forever. One of the main takeaways from this chapter is that our faith should drive our lives. It should impact our choices, desires, plans, and every aspect of our lives. We should live every moment in light of our relationship with Jesus. We don’t live in regret from our past because God has forgiven us. We don’t live discouraged about the present because God has saved and empowered us. We don’t live fearful about the future because God has promised us a future with Him. Rahab reminds us that our past sins do NOT have to define us! We STILL have an opportunity to RISE UP and impact the destinies of those we love. Refuse to accept the devil’s lie that ‘It’s too late!” If God can make a hero of a harlot, surely, He can use us.

In Joshua 3 we see God’s people cross over the Jordan River into the Promised Land! After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, they are on the precipice of crossing over. The problem was that the Jordan was at flood stage. Instead of 100 ft across and 10 ft deep as it is during normal times, it was a half-mile wide, way deeper, and raging fast because it was at flood stage.

The Jordan may have seemed to the people to be an insurmountable problem, but the Lord was equal to the occasion.

The challenge for you and me is to know that before there is a breakthrough, comes the battle.

There is practice before perfection. There is preparation before completion.

There could be no Testimony without the Test.

There could be no Victory without a Battle.

There could be no Resurrection without the Crucifixion.

When we are in the middle of a struggle, it is our faith that keeps us going when we don’t feel like we can do it. That is living faith! We can, just like Joshua, be strong and courageous because as believers, God is with us!