March 02 - Have Courage

Be… of good courage, do not be afraid…. Joshua 1:9

Each time in the scriptures when the Lord told one of His saints to not be afraid, he was about to call him to do something that he could not do in his own strength. Joshua was about to lead the people across the Jordan River to go into the Promised Land. The disciples were watching Jesus walk on water and Paul was in prison when the Lord came to him and told him to not be afraid. When the Lord tells this to His saints, it is as if He is coming to them and putting his long arm around them, and picking them up and setting them on the journey He has for them.

For Joshua, it was to take the Promise, to go make a life in the land they had been promised. For Peter, he then walked on water with Jesus, but no doubt these words challenged the disciples to fulfill the call to spread the Good News of Christ to all people. For Paul, it was to go to Jerusalem to testify and to continue to spread the gospel and encourage the saints.

As a church, the Lord has called us to do many of the same things. We are to go where he leads, and tell others about Him in our life based on His word. Sometimes the tasks he gives us are hard, just as hard as crossing the Jordan and going into a land of giants, walking on water, or testifying before men about Christ. The message is the same for us - "be of good cheer, do not be afraid." Just as Christ's long arm was around Paul in prison, his arm is around us as well.

We can face our life without fear because the Lord is with us. Let us not be a church who faces our future with fear but with faith because the Lord is with us on the journey that He has placed us.

- Beth Johnson