Be Strong and Courageous

 

Today's guest post is provided by Rev. Austin Wicks.  Rev. Wicks is an associate pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Munster, Indiana.

Scripture

1 After Moses the Lord’s servant died, the Lord spoke to Joshua, Nun’s son. He had been Moses’ helper. ² “My servant Moses is dead. Now get ready to cross over the Jordan with this entire people to the land that I am going to give to the Israelites. ³ I am giving you every place where you set foot, exactly as I promised Moses. ⁴ Your territory will stretch from the desert and the Lebanon as far as the great Euphrates River, including all Hittite land, up to the Mediterranean Sea on the west. ⁵ No one will be able to stand up against you during your lifetime. I will be with you in the same way I was with Moses. I won’t desert you or leave you. ⁶ Be brave and strong, because you are the one who will help this people take possession of the land, which I pledged to give to their ancestors.

⁷ “Be very brave and strong as you carefully obey all of the Instruction that Moses my servant commanded you. Don’t deviate even a bit from it, either to the right or left. Then you will have success wherever you go. ⁸ Never stop speaking about this Instruction scroll. Recite it day and night so you can carefully obey everything written in it. Then you will accomplish your objectives and you will succeed. ⁹ I’ve commanded you to be brave and strong, haven’t I? Don’t be alarmed or terrified, because the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”  (Common English Bible)

Devotion

I have always been a big fan of the book of Joshua. When I was a kid growing up in the church I thought Joshua was fun and cool because of all the battles and the awesome displays of power that God showed the people of Israel. Stopping the sun in it’s tracks, throwing boulders from heaven, dropping the walls of Jericho, it was all incredible to me and awe inspiring. 

Which is perhaps why I find it most interesting that as an adult, I still love the book of Joshua even though those same scriptures now often leave me with a pit in my stomach as I wrestle with the deep ramifications of a God that commits genocide every few chapters and a people of God who ransack and destroy everything in sight.

But perhaps one of the reasons why I feel so connected to the book of Joshua, especially these days, is that the stories are ones of clear connection to God’s presence around us. God takes time to speak with Joshua alone. In the scripture selection for today, Moses has just died leaving Joshua to lead the people. But God takes a little time to speak with Joshua, to give him some rules, and some encouragement.  

God wants Joshua to understand that despite the fact that Moses, the man who was The Man, the one who spoke with God and saw his backside, despite the fact that this Moses has died God is not going anywhere. God knows that Joshua’s journeys ahead will be difficult and gives him some advice.

There are many ways to translate these words, be strong and courageous, strong and resolute, but the emphasis is on the physical and the mental.  God wants Joshua to maintain his physical strength, but also to be prepared emotionally for the challenges ahead of him. Joshua needs to prepare his physical and mental health. 

It is this message to Joshua that I hear loud and clear these days. Especially with our children returning to school, the need to be strong and courageous. With the delta variant running rampant in certain communities as others prepare to endure it once more, the need for fortitude and to be resolute.

As Joshua does his best to prepare for the trials ahead, God reminds him that he cannot forget his daily prayers, and reading of the book of law/book of teachings. It is in our daily praying to God, in our reading of scripture, that we are brought closer to God. And  reminded, just as Joshua was, that God is with us guiding us every step of the way.

Prayer

God who binds us together, who finds us in the dangerous places. Be close to me this day and forever more. Grant me the strength and wisdom to face the days ahead. Remind me of your close presence, that I may follow your path into the future. Amen.