Today's Devotional Thought
April 19, 2013 by Rachel Piferi
Be Strong & Courageous
Have you ever noticed how many times someone is told to “be strong and courageous??? in the Bible? Moses told the Israelites to be strong and courageous as they were approaching the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 31:6). Moses told Joshua to be strong and courageous as he was succeeding Moses as the leader of the Israelites (Deuteronomy 31:7). God also told Joshua to be strong and courageous as he was assuming his leadership position (Deuteronomy 31:23; Joshua 1:6; 1:7; 1:9; 1:18). Joshua told the Israelites to be strong and courageous as they encountered trouble in the Promised Land (Joshua 10:25). David told his son Solomon to be strong and courageous as Solomon was about to succeed David as king and build the temple (I Chronicles 22:13; 28:10; 28:20). As you read through the Bible, we see this command to be strong and courageous repeatedly throughout the Old and New Testaments (II Chronicles 32:7; Haggai 2:4; Zechariah 8:13; I Corinthians 16:13; Ephesians 6:10; II Timothy 2:1).
If you study when this command to be strong and courageous is presented, it is nearly always given when someone is in a transition or conflict or period of uncertainty. As Joshua is taking over leadership from Moses, he is told to be strong and courageous. When Solomon is embarking on building the temple and taking over as king, he is told by his father to be strong and courageous. When Paul is approaching the end of his life and he is giving Timothy final words of encouragement, he tells him to be strong, remain solidly grounded in the truth, and to preach the Word. Consistent with each time this phrase is used, these men were in a period of uncertainty and transition and were likely feeling unsteady about the work ahead of them. And they were told to be strong. Be courageous.
If you study this command even further, you will notice an even more exciting element. Nearly every time this phrase is used in the Bible, it is followed by the statement that God is with you. Regardless of the speaker of this command to be strong and courageous, it is nearly always followed by God being with you. So, why should you feel strong and courageous? Because God is with you. Joshua 1:9 says, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.???
In each of these instances where someone is commanded to be strong and courageous, they are not just told to be strong. They are told why they should be strong. They should feel strong because God is with them. No matter the trial, temptation, struggle, or defeat that you may be going through, you can feel strong because God is with you. And God is strength.
It is not easy to feel strong or courageous in the middle of uncertainty, adversity, or suffering. And in ourselves, we feel very weak and cowardly. But, we have been given a command to be strong and courageous because we have also been given access to unlimited strength and courage through Jesus Christ. The beauty of this command to be strong is that God knows that we can’t be strong on our own. So, he tells us to be strong and then tells us he’s with us. Because, as daughters of the King, we have unlimited rights to endless strength from Him. All we have to do is realize its there and ask him to give it to us.
Ladies, I don’t know what you may be going through that has you feeling weak and discouraged. But take heart sweet sisters and be strong because God is with you wherever you go and will give you all of the strength that you need to do what he has for you. Be strong dear friends. Be courageous, for the Lord your God goes with you wherever you go.
December