One of the things I’m trying to do this year is to improve my communication skills. To speak with clarity. I’ve decided that one of the ways I might be able to do this is through a blog. I even had to look up the word “blog” to make sure I would do it right! It’s basically a person expressing thoughts through a message on a website. To be honest with you, I’ve probably done this more on Facebook than I should.
I want to share thoughts about my current sermon series which is from the book of Joshua. A few weeks ago, we started this series, and it was Joshua’s inauguration as the leader of the Israelites. God did the speaking at this inauguration, and did an excellent job, I might add!
There are a few things that God wanted Joshua to do as he was at this new place in life. I know that you and I will never be inaugurated as the leader of anything close to being the leader of a nation, but we are constantly finding ourselves in new places in life. I think that we can apply God’s instructions to us, in life, as Joshua did.
The first thing God told Joshua (and I’m getting all this from Joshua 1:1-9) is that he needed to be strong. The idea is grabbing hold of something. Whatever we are facing, we simply need to grab hold of it. That, in and of itself, will give us a certain amount of control of the situation. It’s hard to be weak in the lives that most of us live. We must rise to the occasion.
The second thing is that we need to be courageous. There needs to be a level of firmness in our lives. Before I write anything else, let me just remind each of us that, while these instructions may seem beyond our ability, why would they be given at all, if the hearer could not carry out the instructions? God knows more about us, and the inner resources He has provided, than most of us realize. At the turn of the nineteenth century a song “I Shall Not Be Moved” was being sung increasingly by people. The song is most associated with the labor movement of the early twentieth century and by the civil rights movement of the mid twentieth century. These people were oppressed and attacked, and beaten down, but they knew in their spirit the instruction that was given to Joshua – Be Courageous.
By the way, that instruction of being strong and courageous is mentioned three times in just a couple of verses here. That alone speaks volumes.
We also need to be obedient. We need to listen to God and follow His direction. I find that, in life and faced with a new situation, I’m best to listen to someone who knows more than me. Who can possibly know more than God about life? His love, insight, wisdom, and reliability make Him the natural for providing instructions for us. The place we find his directions is in His Word. I know, for most in our world today, that the Bible is not a Book that is readily followed. It is so contradictory to how most of us live our lives. These actions – being strong, being courageous, being obedient – are not isolated directions, but rather they work together as one direction in addressing our new places in life.
There is actually one more thing I want to mention and that is the need to not be afraid or discouraged. A person cannot back down. We owe it to ourselves to see what will happen as we are strong, courageous, obedient. When we are afraid, we are giving power to the circumstances we face. We fail ourselves in not providing ourselves with the resources to pursue our dreams, to pursue victory in times of challenge.
God’s word of encouragement to us is that He will be with us wherever we go. Imagine that – your partner in life, your travel mate if you will, the Creator and Sustainer of life tells you He will be with you wherever you go. How can you not be victorious? How can you not experience the new places in life if God Himself is with you?
All of this sounds good in a Bible Study or sermon, but as I was personally reminded just a few days after I preached this message – this is the only thing you can do when faced with those new, and very scary, places in life. Listen to what God tells you and be the victorious one He has created you to be.