Strength and Courage Wins the War

Reference: Deuteronomy 31:6 So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.

Observation: At least four times Joshua is reminded to be strong and courageous. Could it be that when we enter a new arena of promise and warfare, weakness and cowardice are natural human responses for many?

We all have a "Promise Land" that we are asking and praying for God to bring us into. We may be tempted to simply hope that God works it out for us with little of our own effort or commitment. The truth is, taking hold of the supernatural blessings in our lives demands action. It demands strong, courageous action.

Fortunately, God does not leave us to our own devices to face these challenges. He asks us to have strength and courage but only in the context of the three very important truths:

1. God has gone ahead of us and prepared the way. As we go forward, God has already been there making sure the path is open for us to walk.
2. He will not fail us. He that has promised will perform. We can rely on His promises to us.
3. He does not simply go before and prepare, He walks next to us as we face our life’s challenges. We are not in this alone.

With all of that in mind, God says to us; "be strong and courageous, don’t be afraid" and it is reasonable to think that we can do it.

Application/Confession: My biggest challenge when it comes to taking a hold of those promises that God as put in my heart is simply to focus my life so that the laying hold of the things are near the top of my agenda.

It is so easy to get buried by the "day to day", just living, that I am neither strong nor courageous, I am just surviving. I want to launch out and do more. I want to expand my vision and see what God could do if I am willing to walk in courage and strength and without fear.

PRAYER: First, Lord, open my eyes to see the full dimensions of my personal promise land. I want to be strong and courageous. Help me to see clearly what you are promising me and that you will walk with me through the battles ahead. I want to lay hold of all you had in mind when you called me to your Kingdom.