Joshua 1:6-9 – “Be strong and brave! You must lead these people in the conquest of this land that I solemnly promised their ancestors I would hand over to them. ⁷ Make sure you are very strong and brave! Carefully obey all the law my servant Moses charged you to keep. Do not swerve from it to the right or to the left, so that you may be successful in all you do. ⁸ This law scroll must not leave your lips. You must memorize it day and night so you can carefully obey all that is written in it. Then you will prosper and be successful. ⁹ I repeat, be strong and brave! Don’t be afraid and don’t panic, for I, the Lord your God, am with you in all you do.”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, the thought of the power of obedience to produce courage and dispel fear flooded my heart.  Obedience is either rooted in love or fear. One flows from a transformed heart, and the other is a flawed attempt at self-preservation.

One acts because of love, rooted in trust, and the other out of selfishness and avoidance of pain.  In Joshua 1, God issued the call to Joshua. He began by forcing Joshua to face life. Moses is dead. In v.6, 7, and 9, He said, “Be strong and very courageous. He gave Joshua assurance of the presence!

The command could be embraced by each of us. God had an assignment for Joshua that required confidence (faith) in God. It would require courage to withstand the opposition from without and from within. The outside is readily apparent, but the within is not always easily recognized.

We tend to shape our path of life based on ease and preference. We even convince ourselves that God has instructed or promised us things that would make those desires a reality. We fantasize about what we will do when it happens. But God’s assignment is not based on our ease or preference but His eternal purpose. Jesus did not prefer the Cross; it was certainly not easy or painless, but it was the eternal purpose of God. His desire was obedience because of love, and that gave Him the courage and strength to do it.

Our assignment is to love God with our all. Out of that condition, we discover our position of being seated with Jesus in heavenly places and possessors of all spiritual blessings, armed with mighty weapons and overcomers. Out of that love, we die to self and seek Him. Out of that love, our lives are no longer our lives but channels through which His love touches the world. It was for the JOY set before Jesus that He went to the Cross. What Joy? Our Redemption and the Love of God.

God desires willing obedience out of love, not forced compliance out of fear or self-preservation. Be strong and very courageous! The life we now live in the flesh, we live by the faith of the Son of God. In Him, we live and move and have our being. He is our life. Loving Him costs nothing but costs everything! Serving Him is the source of life’s greatest joy!

Lord, enable us to be obedient and from that obedience have the courage to stand!