“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.” (Joshua 1:6)
I was watching a motocross event the other day. One rider’s coach held up a sign when his guy came around a turn. It said, “Get gnarly!” He wanted the rider to cowboy up, to get his game face on, to dig deep. Use whatever sports lingo you want. He wasn’t urging better technique or clear thinking or even more speed. He wanted to see some toughness.
Three times in one paragraph, God tells Joshua the exact same thing. But this ain’t no pep talk. These are commands from the voice of the living God to one small human about to do an impossible thing: “Be strong.” “Be courageous.”
How? Why? Because we can. God provides all the power to those doing His will. But it’s still up to us to hit the gas, to get up again after we hit the dirt the first time, to hit back and keep moving. I don’t care who you are. If you’re doing what God asks, you will be strong if you choose to be. You will be courageous when you have to be. You will biff sometimes, but God won’t let you come up empty when you’re following His course for you.
Think: Do you think of strength and courage as things you can just choose to have? Do you think Joshua wondered if he could be strong and courageous enough to do what God asked? Do you?
Pray: Ask God to help you obey Him today with strength and courage to do everything He’s asked of you.
Do: Hit an online dictionary and read through all the definitions for strength and courage.