Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:6-9)

[We buried two amazing Christian friends this past weekend who died tragically.  I believe God pointed me to this verse for my heart and, perhaps, for the hearts of others who are wounded by this loss.]

There are times when we have to choose to be strong and courageous. We have to choose it because the enemy has just knocked us down. The book of Joshua opens with the death of Moses. Think about the loss of that lone figure who faced down Pharaoh, led the nation of Israel through the Red Sea, stood on the mountain with God, pleaded for rebellious Israel when God would destroy them and start over, led them through the wilderness for forty years, brought water from the rock, and spoke face-to-face with God every day. For those who had been children when they left Egypt, he was the only leader they had ever known. He was such a figure and so esteemed by God that they must have felt that he was eternal, that he would never die. In fact, we are told that at the age of 120, “his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone” (Dt.34:7). And yet, he did die. The Israelites grieved for thirty days and then God told Joshua to get ready to take the land he had promised to them.

We often think of these great men and women of the Bible as superheroes, full of resolve and never doubting, but they were flesh and blood just like us. They had their weaknesses, their doubts, their moments of failure, and fear just like we do. Suddenly, Joshua must have felt the weight of leadership like never before. Up to that moment, he simply carried out orders that came from the lips of Moses. It was Moses who had to hear from God. Now he had to hear correctly. Would the people accept him as their leader? Now he had to lead, knowing that not everyone would cast their vote for him if it were decided by election. There had always been  opponents of Moses, how much more might they oppose him? And then there was the enemy across the river. They still had to face warring people with fortified cities. The Nephilim were still in the land. Israel was still no nation of military might and strategy. They were mostly nomads who had wandered the wilderness for forty years until they buried their parents. Very few had any experience in warfare.

Three times, in these three verses, God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous. The reason was simple – God would be with him and God was determined that his people would inherit the land God had promised to Abraham and to them. Joshua had many reasons to doubt his calling, to doubt his leadership, and, perhaps, to doubt that he was even hearing from God. I know there must have been moments when he had to engage his will to believe, to be strong and courageous, and to take the land God had promised. Undoubtedly, Satan was not absent from those moments. He had been in the camp since Israel left Egypt sowing fear and discord, golden calves, and rebellion. Surely he was there when Joshua was given his commission planting doubt and accusation in his mind.

There are always two trees in our garden. One is the Tree of Life, which we access by faith; the other is the tree of death that bears the fruit of Satan’s lies. We have to choose which tree we will tend and from which tree we will eat. God called Joshua to feed on his word and his commandments for life flows from those. God called Joshua to meditate on his promises and on the purposes that God had established for his people. He called on Joshua to meditate on the very nature of God and who God had been for his people for forty years.

From that focus comes strength and courage. If you think about it, the odds of success were the same for Israel crossing the Jordan this time, as they were when Israel balked at crossing the river forty years earlier. Reason would say they were still out-manned and out-gunned. Faith said that the same God, who broke the back of Pharaoh, would do the same with the enemies of Israel that occupied their land.

God always defies human reason. Faith grabs hold of that and even when the enemy gets a punch in, the strong and courageous get back on their feet with an assurance that one punch does not settle the fight. They get back on their feet with a determination to finish the task that God has given them because he had promised to never leave them or forsake them and to give them victory in the end.

God’s call on our lives seems light and bright when everything is going our way, meeting our expectations, and making sense to us. But there will be times when the enemy gets in a punch and, perhaps, even knocks us to the canvas gasping for air.   If we are shaken by the experience of that blow getting by our defenses, believe that God has forsaken us, or that the enemy is too strong, we will certainly loose. If we rise up, however, more determined than ever to believe God for the victory he has promised and to hit back even harder, then we will lead our people to inherit the land God has promised them. We will fulfill our commission.

Some days, in the face of disappointment, loss, tragedy, weariness, and uncertainty there is a part of us that feels defeated and, perhaps, even wants to give up. We, like Elijah, just want to run and hide. That is when we must hear God’s whisper, “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous… Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” So, whatever you are facing or feeling today, decide to be strong and courageous for he is surely with us. Catch your breath, feed on the Tree of Life, soak in the Word, bathe your heart in praise, and rise up more determined that ever to push ahead. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”