A Basis For Courage - Joshua

“Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do.”

Joshua 1:6-7

What do you think frightens most men? Recent polls and surveys tell us that more men fear professional failure than anything else. Fear of financial failure comes next, followed by the fear of making a serious mistake in their professional or family lives.

Can you identify with any of these fears? Have you ever found yourself awake at night thinking about your professional life, your family’s financial security, or whether you are making the right decisions regarding your work and family?

God called Joshua to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land. He certainly struggled with such fears, but he is a great example of how to make fear a nonissue.

We remember Joshua as a fearless leader. What gave him such courage? It doesn’t appear that he started out that way. Otherwise, why would God repeatedly have to tell him to “be strong and courageous”?

Joshua’s courage came first from his strong sense of purpose. God had called him to lead saying, “You are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them” (Joshua 1:6).

Second, Joshua completely obeyed God’s instructions: “Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left” (Joshua 1:7).

Joshua went down in history as one of Israel’s most courageous leaders for a very simple reason: He was determined to go where God called him to go and to do what God called him to do. That’s a sure recipe for courage in any age and place.

Where has God called you to go? What has God called you to do? Have you determined to go there and do that? When you combine a God-given sense of purpose with a commitment to obedience, courage results. God will enable you to defeat your enemies and will give you all he has promised.