On Courage
I’ve been reading the Book of Joshua recently, and chewing slowly on some particular verses in chapter 1.
These are some of the instructions and promises that God gave to Joshua after Moses died and Joshua took over leading Israel –
- “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” (v6)
- “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.” (v7)
- “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”(v8)
- “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” (v9)
I love the repetition and the assurance and reassurance that God issues to Joshua in a message that he is supposed to convey to Israel: Be strong and courageous. Obey Me. Don’t be afraid. Be strong and courageous. Don’t be discouraged. I am with you. These are the things that God knew His people needed to hear in order for them to be prepared for the future that lay ahead of them.
Surely, after following Moses around in the desert and wilderness for decades, the people of Israel had moments of frustration, fear, and doubt about this God Who kept insisting that He would faithfully deliver them into a glorious promised land. And at this moment in history, when God spoke to the people through Joshua, they were approaching the cusp of their future – and drawing near in time to the moment they had all been waiting for. But only God knew that; there was no way that the people could have predicted the exact time when God would make good on His promises.
So God encouraged them with these words, seasoning their hearts so they would be prepared for what lay just ahead. Notably, three times in four verses, God reminded His people to be strong and courageous (with the occasional variant exhortion to be “very” courageous).
When I read this passage, and reread it, I felt like God was trying to tell me the same thing: especially the part about being strong and courageous, not being discouraged, and not turning to the right or to the left away from the path on which He has directed me. I’m about to graduate and enter a new phase of my life in the next six months, and like the Israelites, I don’t know quite what lies ahead of me. I think I have a pretty good idea of the general direction in which I am to go, but anything past half a year looks blurry, and as time keeps marching on, I too step day by day toward an abyss of unknowns.
If I don’t think about it too much, the future is okay by me. As time passes I keep moving forward with the air of an ignorant something that approximates either bravado or resignation to fate – depending on the day. But other days, I grapple with anxieties about what my tomorrows hold – with regard to ministry, family, friends, health, faith, and all sorts of other things with which our lives are built. Dwelling too long on the anxiety and giving in to worry is not what God intended – but neither is lackadaisical complacency.
So this chapter – Joshua 1 – was powerful in that it struck a chord that rang true in my soul. God wants us – God wants me – to keep walking toward the future with courage. Courage is what makes us more forward with expectation and hope, with open hands seeking God’s direction, rather than closed hands clutching on safety nets or clinging to our own visions and objectives. Courage deals with tragedy through acceptance of God’s will and a soul that cries to God for aid, rather than allowing pressure to yield an irreparably broken spirit. And courage is special because it is more deliberate than resignation, more humble than bravado, and more faith-filled than fear.
I guess at the bottom and at the heart of what God was telling Joshua to tell the people was a message akin to this: Walk with Me, follow Me closely, and don’t worry about where I may lead you – because I have it all figured out, and I love you and I will not leave you no matter what. You can’t go wrong with Me, so even though you can’t understand what I’m doing and why, just believe. Believe in Me, and from your faith you will get courage and strength. Above all, walk with Me, and follow in obedience and faith.
The message seems so simple, yet in practice it can be really hard to stick to. But it’s a good aspiration. I want to walk with Jesus and live with the strength and courage I know He can bestow – if only I could stretch out the hand of my heart and receive the faith that He wants to give me.