Day 387 · Year 2 · Life with God
Be strong and courageous
God's most-repeated command in Joshua is not 'try harder.'
Today's passage
Joshua 1:8-9
8This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in all you do.
9Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
Berean Standard Bible · public domain
Reflection
Joshua is being asked to do what Moses could not finish. God's command is twofold: meditate on the Book of the Law day and night, and be strong and courageous — because the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Courage in Scripture is not the absence of fear. It is acting on the presence of God. Whatever river you are being asked to cross today, the same promise stands. He is with you. That changes what is possible.
From the great tradition · paraphrased
John Knox · Reformers · 16th c. · Scotland
John Knox preached courage to a frightened country with the conviction that the believer's boldness is not self-generated but borrowed from a sovereign God who keeps his promises.
Paraphrase only. Scripture, not any teacher, is the authority.
Think it through
- What two practices does God call Joshua to in verses 8–9?
- What is the basis for being 'strong and courageous'?
- What 'river' is in front of you that you need God's courage to cross?
A prayer to pray
Name the fear. Receive the promise: he is with you. Ask him for the next courageous step.