OVERCOMING FEARS – BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged,
for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9

Knowing what to do and doing it are two different things.
We can know what to do, but our fear can keep us from doing it.
There are times when fear prevents us from being obedient.

The Israelites had been wandering in the wilderness for 40 years.
They were fearful of what the other nations would do to them,
and they were fearful of the Lord because of His anger against them
(they had broken their covenant with Him and worshiped other gods).

Now the nation was on the brink of entering the land God promised them.
Their new leader, Joshua, stood before them.
His frequent challenge was, “Be strong and courageous.”
That phrase is repeated four times in chapter 1,
and expressed in slightly different terms in other verses.

Why did he feel the need to encourage them to be strong and courageous?
Because what they saw as impossible kept them from doing what God wanted.
Due to the time of the year, a great number of people with their possessions
were looking at crossing a flooded river that was at least a mile wide.

The spies brought back an encouraging report and the people prepared to move out.
It was time to move;  they knew what they were to do and now they were to do it!
“Be strong and courageous” was put to the test when they stepped into that dangerous river.
But they obeyed and God blessed them by stopping the flow of the river
and providing them with a dry path to cross over to the other side.
“Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest.
Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan
and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing.
It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity
of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea)
was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests
who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan
and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation
had completed the crossing on dry ground.
(Joshua 3:15-17).

There will be times in our life when our courage to obey will be tested.
During those times, we need to be ready to overcome our fears.
God is faithful and will bless those who are obedient, even when the river is wide.

Ask the Lord to give you courage to obey Him today and every day.
Ask Him for strength and encouragement to obey Him,
even when obedience seems like crossing a wide and rushing river.