Have not I commanded you? Be strong, vigorous, and very courageous. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9
Life is full of things that can make us feel overwhelmed and in those it is tempting to become discouraged. It could be a ongoing health issue, a job lay off, your children or grandchildren beginning to go out and live life. Or it could be something God has called us to do.
There is a man in the Bible by the name of Joshua who must have felt this way. Joshua was given the task to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land after the death of Moses. Here was Joshua called to fill the shoes of an amazing man God had used to bring the Hebrew nation out of bondage. It was now his responsibility to claim the land that had been promised to Hebrew people some five hundred years earlier. This land was the focus of all these millions of people who had been wondering along year after year in the wilderness. They passed the word about the Promised Land along generation after generation. Yet no previous generation had gone in to possess what had been given to them.
Now I understand why God kept encouraging Joshua. In chapter one it is written four times where God is encouraging Joshua to be strong and of good courage.
There are times in life when we need someone to say to us, “Take Courage! Take Heart! “ I want to encourage you today to be strong and very courageous for you are not alone.