BY: MEGAN GILMORE
For almost a year, I have been leading a small group of ladies in a bible study on Saturday mornings. We have been on Zoom before this pandemic blew up the world of Zoom. Our time each Saturday has been a blessing to meet in the presence of God and learn together. We are a come as you are on a Saturday morning kind of group, and it works for us. We all wake up, grab some coffee or tea, and then dig into the scriptures.
We just started Joshua and y’all...I know these stories because I grew up in the church. But there is something very different these days when I am reading the scripture. God is showing me more and more what He is really saying. He is revealing parts of scripture I have not seen before. He is opening my eyes and heart to go to new levels with Him.
Joshua 1:7-9 is where I feel Him stirring in me that His children need to be reminded to, “Be strong and courageous.” We are in weird times, and I feel like I say this a few times a day...but it is true! We are in August of 2020, and this year has been strange. God wants us to “Be strong and courageous.”
In this first chapter of Josuha within five verses, God gives the command, “Be strong and courageous.” three times! I think there is a reason He is emphasizing it because He knows we will struggle with being strong and courageous. Joshua was about to go take the promised land, but before he does, God is telling him of the promise of victory for His people. Now, Joshua and the Israelites were facing actual battles to take their promised land. We may not be fighting a battle the same way they were; however, we are facing battles in our lives.
I do not know about you, but 2020 has not gone the way I pictured it would go! There have been many moments where I have thought, “There is no way it could get any stranger,” and then I wake up to something else crazy happening in the world.
One battle I know we have all been facing the setbacks and trials of COVID-19 and our lives locking down. There have been racial battles that have to continue to be fought. Eyes are being opened to the evil around and the need for people to step up and fight for those being sexually trafficked. Each one of these is a considerable challenge by itself...but I know that is not the only thing you have been facing this year!
You are probably tired. I know I am. Maybe you are feeling like these battles will never end. I have felt that. Perhaps you feel like giving up. Trust me, I have also felt this, but don’t give up! I am here to remind you of what God commanded Joshua before he went to battle.
“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. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; 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 afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:7-9
God is commanding us to, “Be strong and courageous.” Obey His word. Y’all that is so important! He is giving us boundaries to follow for a reason, and this verse even tells us that when we follow His word we will be prosperous and successful! I want that for my life and yours! Then, God also reminds us to “not be afraid” and “do not be discouraged” because He is going to be with you each and every step!
As you are facing a new week during the uncertain times we live in I want you to remember that God is with you! He is not going to leave you! When we remember these promises we can stand strong and be courageous. He is with you fighting each battle that you are facing!
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