BE STRONG AND OF GOOD COURAGE

 

This is what I learnt from righteous Joshua, the son of Nun. At the onset of conquest of the promised land, the mighty Jehovah spoke to him and told him he is to conquer all the land from Lebanon to the river Euphrates (Joshua 1:4). In actuality, this meant the region south and southwest of the Lebanon mountains, north and east of Egypt, east of the Mediterranean coastal plain and west of the Arabian desert (OT Student Manual 1, p 236). In other words, the land that lay before Joshua was massive. Overwhelming, isn’t it? But Jehovah issued an admonition to Joshua to ‘be strong and of good courage’ three times (Joshua 1:6,7,9) assuring him: ‘I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee….be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest’ (vs 5,9). And then the promise: Joshua was told that he must adhere strictly to the law of Moses and he shall have success (v 8) but not just any success, he was promised that his success would be so great that there shall not any man be able to stand before him all the days of his life (v 5). This Joshua did, obeying all of the Lord’s instructions with exactness (fascinating examples of this to look out for in his story). The result of his meticulous obedience?  A success unsurpassed:  ‘the Lord was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country’ (Joshua 6:27). 

 

Joshua’s story made me reflect on how each of us has a ‘promised land’ to conquer in the form of the lives we were assigned to live and challenges we were told we would have to tackle in our second estate. Some of us have mighty mountains to climb and we are wondering if we can possibly ever reach the top. But I imagine the Saviour say: ‘be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for I have climbed the highest mountain of all and I will always be with you to climb yours to the top’. All we have to do to have His assistance to conquer our promised land is to be obedient to His laws and His instructions, with exactness, not deviating to the right or to the left. Then we shall become beacons of righteousness and have unsurpassed success in this life and glory in the next. 

 

You warned me there would be mountains to climb

But promised there would be resting spots along the way;

You warned me of the subtle pitfalls

And how deep and wide the waters I would wade.

But you promised me Your hand in mine

Every minute of the day

And that You would meet me at the finish line

When I had conquered all there was to pay.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art by Brent Borup)