Context No. 2848 of 4322 · Joshua

Joshua 1:6-11: in context

6“Be strong and courageous; for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7Only be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you. Don’t turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 8This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it; for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success. 9Haven’t I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” 10Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 11“Pass through the middle of the camp, and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare food; for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess.’”

God commissions Joshua after the death of Moses, and three times over presses the same charge: be strong and courageous. Keep the whole law and do not turn from it. Let this book of the law not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night so you may obey all that is written. Do not be afraid, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.

Notice what the courage is anchored to. This is no self-help pep talk about believing in yourself. The command to be strong is tied to two solid things: obedience to God's word and the promise of God's presence. Be brave, because I am with you. Be careful to obey, and you will find your way. The courage God requires is not a fearlessness we generate from within, but a confidence grounded in his nearness and his word, which do not change when our nerve does.

Where do I need courage right now, and am I trying to find it inside myself, or in God's promise to be with me and in his word?

Sources

Joshua 1:9: "Be strong and courageous. Don't be afraid... for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
Deuteronomy 31:6: "He will not fail you nor forsake you."
Psalm 1:2: "His delight is in the LORD's law. On his law he meditates day and night."