"And the Lord called unto Joshua, and said unto him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and of a good courage for you must go with this people unto the land which the Lord has called them; and you shall cause them to inherit it. 8. And the Lord, He is that doth go before you; He will be with thee, He will not fail thee; nether forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed."
Our text is the command that God gave Moses to give to Joshua when he was about lead Israel in to Canaan. First, he told Joshua to be "strong and of a good courage.". He was not to be cowardly and afraid, but was to lead the people with courage. This is a call to us to face our days with courage. I once read that courage is fear that has said its prayers. We go forth in spite of our fears. We should not be ashamed to be afraid, but we should be ashamed to let fear rule our decisions about our lives. Second, he told Joshua that God would go before them, and be with them as He had through their whole journey through the desert. Jesus has promised us that He will not forsake us, and there is no reason for us to suspect that He has gone back on that promise. He is with me as I write this, and with you as you read it. This is a promise that we need to hold close to our hearts; "He will be with thee...." Believe it! Third, he told Joshua: "He will not fail thee, neither forsake thee." I have found this to be true during my years in Christian ministry. There were times when I was tempted to quit, to give it up, but giving up was not an excuse that God gave me when He called me into the ministry. Moses wanted Joshua to know that this journey was not just about him, but about what the Lord was doing with His people. I have told myself many times: "It's not about me." It is also not about you. The Lord Who led Moses and Israel, would still lead them and not forsake them. Israel's journey through the desert should have taught them that. God would not fail or forsake them! I hope that you believe that this is true in your life. Fourth, he told Joshua to "fear not, neither be dismayed." "Dismay" is defined in my Webster Dictionary as to "lose courage and resolution." I can look back over my own failures and see the shadow of dismay. Satan says, "Why don't you just give it up. You are hopeless and these people are hopeless." In God's service that is always a lie straight out of hell. Satan wants us to be dismayed, but God has called us to be resolute with a strong backbone and to not give up. Have you felt like quitting lately? God did not tell you to quit. It was Satan trying to dismay you. Moses knew that if Joshua became dismayed, he would not lead the people strongly. It is also true of us, that when we give in to dismay, we will not be resolute in our faith. We should also remember that dismay is not caused by God. I think that you will agree that this is a good message for us today. Take it to heart! Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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