April 10th blog post

April 10, 2017

The "How to" of battles

Sitting on my computer, for more years then I can recall,  is the verse Joshua 1:9 - "Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

I wrote that verse and put it where I could see it for a reason.  Life, my life and the lives of those I love, has its challenges, battles, struggles, and difficulties.  This verse is meant to encourage me to be strong and courageous because the Lord is with me.  The problem is that when I am in the middle of challenges and battles and I am struggling to see a victorious outcome it is easy for me to become discouraged and sometimes even terrified.  I become discouraged that the enemy will win, the battle will be lost.  I can become terrified for those I love and if my focus is off kilter I can become terrified with the battles I have to keep going through. 

But the Lord gives me a command in this verse, he gives me two things that I am to do: "Be strong and courageous".  Actually he has repeated this short phrase for several verses. For all the years this verse has sat on my computer I have read it and then told myself, "be strong and courageous because God is with you."  A command and a promise.  I simply need to be these things and to remember God is with me.  But today as I was walking and thinking about battles that I am engaged in I found myself asking the Lord, "How?  How Lord am I to be strong and courageous when I am tired and when it feels like the enemy is overpowering and stronger?  I want to be strong and courageous but I feel weak and beaten.  I need you to show me how."  This is where God usually reminds me how very good he is because he immediately answered, "What does verse 8 tell you?"  And I remembered, "Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.  Then you will be prosperous and successful."  The answer to my question was something I already knew, I find strength and courage through God's word.  I can't just read it once and then think that I am good, no, I need to read and reflect and read and reflect and then exercise (put into practice) what I have learned.  I need to let it sink in and work in my heart and mind.  I can't just try to be these things in my own strength, I need to go to the source of courage and strength.

Proverbs 3:5-6 "lean not on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths."  Don't trust my understanding of a situation as God is working in ways I might not be able to see.
2 Timothy 1:7 "God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power, and love and self-control."  The Holy Spirit is power and that power lives in me to conquer fear by putting my trust in the lord.
Jeremiah 29:11 "I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Life may seem difficult and sometimes dark and lonely but there is a hope I am called to cling to as the Lord leads me and my loved ones to the future he has designed.
Isaiah 40:29-31 "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."  The Lord will give me strength to sore and not be faint if I put my hope in him.
Exodus 14:14 "The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."  When the battle is bigger than I am it is never to big for my God.  Sometimes I need to be still in the presence of God and trust him to work things out when I am not able.

When I am feeling discouraged, weak, and terrified from the struggles and battles of life, these are just a few of the promises and reminders I can find in the bible that help me to know how to be obedient to the Lord's Command in Joshua 1:9 and to "BE" strong and courageous.  I am able because my God loves me, he sees the bigger picture, he will lead me, he will give me strength, he will fight for me and I will put hope in him.

I encourage you to write these verses down (Joshua 1:8-9) and put them somewhere you will see them every day.  Let them be a reminder to spend time in the quiet with the Lord and his word so that your courage and strength for all of life's battles will be renewed daily.  Our God is an awesome and mighty God.  He loves us and he will never leave us.  May you be encouraged daily and may your hope rest in the one who is faithful to always be there for us.