Loving God Fellowship - A Blog by Reverend Greg Johnson founder of LovingGodFellowship.org

Gregory A. Johnson: Christ follower, husband, father, pastor, and writer

Friday, 18 September 2009

You may have just completed the worse week in your life; be strong and courageous. You may be getting ready to go into the worse week in your life; be strong and courageous. Your health may be failing; be strong and courageous. Your finances may not be enough; be strong and courageous.

In the midst of a world that grows increasingly out of step with the Gospel, be strong and courageous. In the midst of world terrorism, be strong and courageous. In the midst of economic uncertainty, be strong and courageous. In the midst of wars and rumors of wars, be strong and courageous. In the midst of global warming and record setting numbers of natural disasters, be strong and courageous. In the midst of a flu pandemic, be strong and courageous.

In Joshua Chapter 1 of God’s Word, God tells Joshua repeatedly to “be strong and courageous.” God is getting ready to take Joshua and the people of Israel on a journey out of the wilderness in which they had been wondering in for forty years and into the Promised Land. It won’t be easy. They would face a lot of obstacles on their journey that they would have to overcome, but God is telling them to be strong and courageous.

We likewise are on a journey. On our journey, we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. Jesus is taking us out of the wilderness and into the Promised Land. It’s a journey from earth to Glory. We will face a lot of obstacles on our journey that we will have to overcome, but God encourages us to be strong and courageous.

In the midst of known and unknown obstacles in life, how do we stay strong and courageous?

We stay strong and courageous by knowing and obeying God’s written Word. God tells Joshua "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. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; 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." (Joshua 1:7-8 NIV)

God’s instruction to Joshua was 1) Talk about the Word 2) Meditate on the Word 3) Do the Word. God was telling Joshua to make God’s Word the authoritative guide for all beliefs and actions.

Beloved, we are to make the Bible the authoritative guide for all of our beliefs and our actions. It is so vital, especially in the day that we are living. The Word of God is the only absolute truth that we have to stand on. As we talk about the Word of God, as we meditate on the Word of God and as we do the Word of God, we will obtain strength and courage for the journey ahead of us. Whatever obstacles that we are confronted with, we will be able to overcome! Nothing, absolutely nothing will conquer us on our journey from earth to glory!

Joshua is an Old Testament type of Christ. Joshua points to Jesus. The name Joshua means “the Lord saves” and the Greek form of the name Joshua is Jesus. Jesus came to earth and showed us how to be strong and courageous on our journey. He talked about the Word, He meditated on the Word and He did the Word. He fulfilled everything that was written about Him in the prophetic books of the Bible. From His virgin birth to His death on the cross to His resurrection; He did the Word. He overcame every obstacle including an old rugged cross and a cold damp tomb.

Hallelujah Beloved! Talk about the Word of God. Meditate on the Word of God. Do the Word of God. God will strengthen you. God will give you courage. God will take you out of the wilderness and place you in His Promised Land! Glory Be to God!

We stay strong and courageous because of God’s abiding presence. God tells Joshua "No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Joshua 1:5 NIV) God also tells Joshua "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9 NIV)

God is not telling Joshua that the journey is going to be easy. No, it is going to be everything but easy. Get your Bible out and read the book of Joshua and you will see how uneasy it was. God didn’t say it would be easy, but God did say that no one would be able to stand against him so there is no need to be terrified or discouraged.

In the midst of huge obstacles, Joshua was able to overcome and not be terrified or discouraged because of God’s abiding presence. God told Joshua that He would be with him wherever he went and that God would never leave him or forsake him. Joshua found out in all situations that if God is with you, it doesn’t matter how big the obstacle is, you will prevail.

Beloved, what obstacles are you facing in your journey? What seems to be insurmountable? What’s taking your joy? What’s taking your peace? What do you lie awake thinking about? Know this, that if God is with you, it doesn’t matter how big the obstacle is, you will prevail! You will overcome! When you look at that big obstacle, don’t be terrified and don’t be discouraged. God is with you and you will prevail!

The moment that you decided to follow Jesus and accepted the work He did for you on the cross, the Holy Spirit set up residence in you. He abides in you! You are now a temple of God. You house His Holy Spirit. That is the abiding presence of God in you.

It’s all because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. He took our punishment. He shielded us from the wrath of God. He suffered, bled and died so that we could experience the abiding presence of God for now and for all eternity! And now God has set up residence in us. In earthen vessels that are nothing but jars of clay. Everywhere we go, God goes with us. He will never leave us nor forsake us! He will get us through every obstacle on our journey from earth to Glory!

Praise God Beloved! Don’t be terrified! Don’t be discouraged! God is with you and has given you His Word. Talk about it! Meditate on it! Do it! God will give you the strength and the courage to be successful on your journey from earth to Glory! Nothing, absolutely nothing will prevail against you! No obstacle will hinder you on your Journey! God is taking you out of the wilderness and into His Promised Land. Be strong and courageous!