Be Strong and Courageous!
by Kelly Williams
Have you ever been totally terrified? So scared you can’t breathe? About a week ago my husband was sitting on his four-wheeler at the farm when it caught fire. He sent me a text with a picture of it in full flame and told me we needed to go shopping for a side-by-side. He has second degree burns on his leg from the knee to the ankle, but all in all, it could certainly have ended much worse.
Another time I was scared so badly was about 40 years ago when our pediatrician told me to drive directly to Arkansas Children’s Hospital with our youngest daughter because he thought she might have leukemia. After several hours of driving and tests, we were told it was not leukemia but rather a condition treatable by steroids.
What scares you? As I’ve thought about that question, it is almost always when someone I love dearly is in danger. But what about when God tells you to do something that terrifies you, like openly speaking to someone about Jesus and His saving grace. Does that make your heart race? Does it make you want to throw up? What if God told you to move to some foreign country where Christianity is illegal. Would you go?
In the Old Testament there is a man named Joshua that had served as Moses’ assistant for some 40 or so years. But then Moses died and Joshua is in charge of these million plus Israelites. How terrifying that responsibility would be! And God was telling Joshua to move forward and take the land God had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God didn’t just wipe everyone out (although He could have done that) and allow the Israelites to walk in. No, they had to fight and kill everyone as God ordered. They had to do their part! That had to be scary to Joshua and all the people.
In our society, that would seem terribly unfair. Kill everyone including babies and animals, those we consider innocent. But God knew that if they were allowed to live, there would be some “gods” placed before Him. God looks at events in view of eternity, while we look at events in view of our short lives. He is working His plan and allows us to be a part of that plan if we are obedient.
In Chapter 5 of Joshua verses 13-15, Scripture tells us an event that I believe would have scared all of us. It reads, “Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my LORD have for his servant?” The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
When you read in the scriptures about an angel appearing to someone, they always fall to the ground. In every instance except this one the angel tells the person to get up and not bow before them for they are not to be worshipped. But not this time! That makes me believe that it was a pre-incarnate Jesus who appeared before Joshua. Wouldn’t that give you courage? To hear directly from an all-powerful angel that he is commander of the Lord’s army and there to go before you? Hasn’t God always been there for us even when things are terrifying? God doesn’t leave us when times are hard. He doesn’t forsake us when things are uncertain in our lives. He is a faithful God who is always there!
While thinking on this and studying Joshua’s life, I came to the realization that it really comes down to trust. Do I trust God? Do I trust Him when things are on fire? When the doctor gives us terrifying news? Do we trust God to be working all things to our good, even when it doesn’t feel good?
Perhaps that is why God told Joshua three times in Chapter one of Joshua to be strong and courageous. God spoke to Joshua about what He wanted done. He told Joshua in Joshua 1:5-6, “No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.” He went on to tell Joshua to keep the law (the Word of God) on his lips and in his heart and to follow the commands all his days. That is good advice for us as well. If you study God’s Word daily, you can be ready when an opportunity arises to share what God has done for you.
As we forward in this new year, I want to encourage you to be strong and courageous. If we all trust God and are obedient to Him and what He asks of us, what a blessing we will receive! As a WMA group we can be a part of God’s plan to share the Good News with all nations and tongues around the world.
Be strong and courageous ladies! For God is fighting for us!
