Joshua: Soldier's Manual Lesson 4

                                                       Courage

Hi everyone. So far in our series, we talked about "The Mission: To take ground." We also talked about "The Mandate: Prepare your provision." Then in our last blog we began talking about "The Means: Weapons." What is the means in which we fulfill our mission? The spiritual weapons God has placed in our spiritual arsenal. The first weapon we talked about was the strength of God. "Joshua, be strong." 

But the Lord didn't just tell Joshua to be strong; He had added something.

Joshua 1:6 "Joshua, be strong and of good courage." 

So the second weapon I would like to talk about is courage. 

In the book of Joshua, God repeatedly tells him to "fear not; be not afraid." 

I believe God is telling Joshua something in this: "Joshua, the biggest weapon the enemy is going to try and use against you is fear. The biggest weapon he is going to try to use to make you shrink back is fear. The weapons he is going to use to try and stop you from moving forward in obedience is fear. Therefore, you must put on courage." 

Thinking about this, the question becomes, "If Satan was wholly defeated at the cross, why does he even bother to oppose us at all?" The answer is, "Because he knows if he can lie to us, and convince us to believe his lie to the point we give up and quit, there are battles he can win. There is ground he can take." The only weapon the devil has is to try to get us to agree with his lies, therefore causing us to run fearfully away from the battle. Yet, it is in these times we must put on courage. 

Understand: you cannot put on courage with the absence of fear. It is when we are dealing with fear that we put on courage. 

I know the scripture tells us "God has not given us a spirit of fear; that, you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba, Father." I have stood on these scriptures many times. However, in my walk with the Lord there are times I have to deal with the feeling of fear. Maybe others have come to the place where their life is absolutely void of all fear; I have arrived! I am absolutely fearless! No fear!     But I haven't reached that place yet. It is in these times I have to put on courage.

In Joshua 1, the Lord tells Joshua, "Fear not." In this particular verse, the Hebrew word that is used actually means "To flee. To run." I believe the Lord is telling Joshua, "There will be times you will feel fear, but when you do, don't run. Do not allow it to lead you. Put on courage and keep moving forward because I will not fail you." 

Friends, in my walk with God, here is how I learned to define "courage." 

Courage is choosing to believe the voice of God over the voice of fear.

Courage is choosing to believe the truth of God over the voice of fear.

Walking in courage means "at the end of the day, I obeyed the voice of God over the voice of fear."                      To me, this is courage.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, I cannot promise you that for the rest of your Christian life you will never feel fear. Yet, I encourage you, when fear tries to fill your heart, trust the unfailing faithfulness of God and keep moving forward. Do not let fear lead you, but allow what you know to be true about God lead you. Put on courage!

T. Austin Sparks once said, "If the first two chapters of Joshua are preparing him for what follows, then quite clearly 'courage' is the dominant characteristic. 4 times in the first chapter it is strongly mentioned. Courage is made a command. In those places where you are fighting with fear in your life, it is a subtle, effective move of the enemy to make a leader accept compromise without the need for battle. The leader's temptation is often and fierce to lower his standard; to lessen his demands; and to accommodate the situation so that it is not rigorous, but easier for everyone. In these times courage is called for more than anything else." 

His words have been a great strength to me over the years because I have lived this. 

In times where fear tried to overwhelm my heart, I found myself fighting the temptation to compromise in order to avoid the battle, or to accommodate the circumstance to lessen the intensity of the battle. Often God has used his words to help me find the strength to hold to my standards and convictions and keep moving forward in what I knew was the right thing to do. I have seen God prove to be faithful when the battle was finally over. 

 So God told Joshua to be courageous; put on courage. 

Here is the question: How did God prepare Joshua's courage? 

Listen, God did not put Joshua in front of invincible walls, giants, and enemy armies that outnumbered him 100 to1, and just say, "Be courageous." God first prepared Joshua's courage. How? 

Joshua 1:5 "There shall not be any man able to stand before you all the days of your life. AS I WAS WITH MOSES, SO I WILL BE WITH YOU." 

Listen, those words meant everything to Joshua! As I was with Moses, so I will be with you spoke so deeply into his heart! You see, Joshua knew God's unfailing faithfulness in Moses' life. For 40 years he was given the honor to walk close to Moses, and serve Moses, and watch firsthand the transaction that took place between God and Moses. For 40 years he had a front row seat to watch the exchange that took place between the Lord and Moses. Joshua was there when God called Moses to fight impossible battles. Joshua saw firsthand when God called Moses to believe for impossible miracles in desperate situations. Decade after decade, Joshua saw the Lord's unfailing faithfulness in Moses life and ministry. So when God told Joshua, "As I was with Moses, so I will be with you," there could be no greater words of comfort and affirmation. 

Friends, my point is, God did not just tell Joshua, "Be courageous." He first prepared his courage by placing him for 40 years under a leader so he could watch God's unfailing faithfulness in that leader's life. 

I truly believe that before God places someone in leadership, He will give that person an opportunity to serve their leadership in some capacity. The Leader will gain the benefit of their assistance, the helper will gain the benefit of their testimonies. When God finally calls the helper to be a leader, their Leader's testimonies will be a great strength in their leadership. What God did for them, He will do for me. Their testimonies will become my testimonies because, as God was with them, so He will be with me. 

Are you serving your Leadership today? Watch and learn!