Friday, April 3, 2009

Be strong and courageous!

Where God guides, God provides!

Do you believe that, really and truly? My devotion yesterday relayed the story of Joshua and the Lord's admonition to be strong and courageous. He, along with a million or so Israelites, have just spent the last 40 years wandering around the wilderness because they failed to believe God would provide. With the death of Moses, Joshua is faced with the task of leading them into the land God has promised. Not sure about you, but I think I might be a bit a....hesitant...uncertain...terrified...all of the above.

The Lord repeatedly encourages Joshua to be strong and courageous, to not be afraid or discouraged. Why? Because God would be with them wherever they went. Whatever giants they may face (real or figurative) in this new and uncertain land, God would fight for them. But there's a catch.

If you read into Joshua chapter one verses 7 & 8, you see that not only are we commanded not to fear, but also to study God's commands, hiding them in our hearts as a source for our encouragement. The end of verse 8 says, "Only then will you succeed." Our part, His part. Our part is to follow His Word and put our trust in Him. His part is to make us successful in what He's called us to do.

Funny how much our lives today mimic that of the Israelites. They crossed the Jordan at flood stage in order to take hold of what God had promised them. What has God promised you? What steps do you need to take in order to take hold of His promise to you? God promised me back in August that He would carry me through my depression. Great! I'm holding on to that promise, but I also know there are steps I have to take in order to see it through. I can't just sit on the banks of the river at flood stage and expect Him to carry me over. I've got to step out into the rising tide and trust Him to part the waters.

And He will.

2 comments:

  1. Easier said than done huh? But focusing on who God is and spending time in his word definately helps.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes. He will.

    Hey, in your last post you mentioned kicking Fred to the curb a bit sooner, rather than later. Does that mean he's gone???

    ReplyDelete

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