Weekly Devotion
"Have I not commanded you?
Be strong and corageous.
Do not be terrified;
do not be discouraged,
for the LORD your God
will be with you wherever you go."
My dear family in Jesus,
What scares you? Perhaps you’ve had a health scare recently. Maybe you found out your job is not as secure as you thought. Or maybe you were just in the car of someone who is an incredibly scary driver. Fear plays a role in our decision making more often than we care to admit. Fear can be strong or subtle, overt or hidden. The presence of fear we need not debate. The important thing is what you choose to do about it.
Joshua knew what to do about it. God used Joshua to bring his people into the Promised Land. Joshua and the people of Israel were going into something totally new—a new land, a new life, a new country—everything new. It would be very easy for Joshua and the people to be afraid.
But God told his Old Testament people something very important and very encouraging as they started into something completely new: “Be strong and courageous.” God said this message to Joshua and the people 5 times in a row: “Be strong and courageous.” This is not merely a physical strength, this is a strength of heart. Courage means going forward with boldness.
If the people would “be strong and courageous,” they must have no fear. This is why God said to them, “Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged.” Notice how often God must say this to people: “do not be terrified”—He said this to Mary, to Joseph, to the shepherds in the Christmas story. But God commands, “do not be terrified; do not be discouraged.”
Then God gives the reason why the people should not be scared or discouraged: “for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” God gave a great reason why those people need not be afraid, because the Lord God will be with them wherever they go. Yes, it would be very easy for the people to be afraid because this would be a new life, a new country; everything was new and uncertain. But with all the uncertainties of this new life, there was one thing that would be constant—one thing would be certain and sure: the Lord God would be with them wherever they go.
God wants you to know this true story because this story is important for your life. When God encouraged his people of Israel to trust in him; those words were not for them alone. God uses these same words to speak to you and me.
This verse is so encouraging for us—God tells us that we don’t have to be afraid. God tells us not to be discouraged. God tells us to be strong and courageous because He is with us wherever we go! Isn’t it sad how often we have failed Him! So often we are afraid when it comes to car problems, money problems, and family problems. We get scared very easily, instead of trusting in God.
So often we get discouraged. When things don’t go the way we want them to go, we can get discouraged. We get sad. We lose heart. It is so sad that our faith is so weak that we so easily get frustrated.
Isn’t it wonderful that God knows our weaknesses and He himself is our strength. Yes, God knows we are weak; so He is strong. God send his Son to live and die to take away all of our sinfulness evidenced by weak faith, fear, and doubt. Every single bit of your sin has been washed away in the blood of Jesus. You are forgiven! You are saved!
This is why we can be strong. This is why we can be courageous. This is why we need not be terrified or discouraged. God is with you. God will be with you wherever you go. Some of you know this firsthand—Some of you know how God was with you in Hong Kong, in Vietnam, and in America. God has never deserted or left you. And He never will. You have his promise.
Blessings on your week!
--Pastor Dan