Strong and Courageous
READ
Joshua stood at one of history's most intimidating crossroads. Moses was dead. The Promised Land stretched before them, filled with fortified cities and warrior nations. The Israelites looked to him for leadership, but Joshua knew the weight of impossibility pressing on his shoulders.
Let’s take a moment to read Joshua 1:1-9:
After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able to stand 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. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
“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.”
REFLECT
Picture the scene: Over two million people looking to you for direction, enemies ahead who had been terrorizing the region for centuries, and you're following in the footsteps of Moses—one of history's greatest leaders. Most of us would panic, make excuses, or look for an escape route. But God met Joshua in this moment of overwhelming responsibility with something unexpected. God didn't give Joshua a detailed battle plan or advanced military training. Instead, He gave him something far more powerful: the promise of His presence. "Be strong and courageous" wasn't motivational speaking—it was a declaration of partnership. God was essentially saying, "You don't have to manufacture courage from thin air. Draw it from My unchanging presence with you."
Notice how God repeated this phrase three times in nine verses. When God emphasizes something, we should pay attention. Each repetition built upon the previous one: be strong and courageous because I give you the land, be strong and courageous in following My law, be strong and courageous because I am with you. Joshua's strength wouldn't come from his resume as Moses' assistant or his natural leadership abilities. His courage would flow from one unshakeable truth: God goes before him, beside him, and behind him.
But God didn't stop with promises—He gave Joshua practical instructions. "Meditate on My word day and night." This wasn't religious busy work. God knew that Joshua's mind would be flooded with doubts, fears, and overwhelming scenarios. The antidote wasn't positive thinking or self-help mantras—it was filling his mind with God's truth until it became his default response to crisis. The Hebrew word for "meditate" literally means to mutter or murmur quietly. God was telling Joshua to develop a habit of speaking His promises under his breath throughout the day. When fear whispered, "You're not qualified," Joshua could murmur back, "The Lord my God is with me wherever I go." When circumstances screamed, "This is impossible," he could quietly declare, "Every place my foot treads, God has given to me."
This reveals something profound about how God builds courage in us. It's not a one-time injection of bravery—it's a daily discipline of reminding ourselves of His presence and promises. Courage becomes a habit formed through consistent meditation on God's faithfulness. The most beautiful part of God's commissioning is that it wasn't conditional on Joshua's performance. God didn't say, "I'll be with you if you're successful" or "I'll help you if you don't make mistakes." The promise was absolute: "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Joshua's qualification wasn't his competence—it was God's character.
This same promise echoes into our lives today. Whether you're facing a job transition, family crisis, health challenge, or personal struggle that feels insurmountable, God's commissioning call remains: "Be strong and courageous, because I am with you." The battles ahead might look different from Joshua's, but the secret to victory remains the same: living in the reality of God's presence rather than the illusion of our own strength.
God's presence isn't just a comfort for difficult times—it's the atmosphere we were designed to live in daily. When we understand this, courage stops being something we try to work up and becomes something we draw from. Strength stops being about our capabilities and starts being about His constancy. This is the foundation of fearless living: not the absence of challenges, but the presence of an unchanging God who goes with us into every battle.
RESPOND
Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.
How might your approach to current challenges change if you truly believed God's presence was your primary source of strength?
Where do you typically try to manufacture courage instead of drawing it from God's promises?
REST
Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying:
Father, like Joshua, I often feel overwhelmed by what lies ahead. Help me remember that Your presence is not just a comfort—it's my greatest source of strength and courage. Teach me to live each day knowing that You go before me, preparing the way. In Jesus' name, Amen.