Weekly Message
BE OF GOOD COURAGE!
Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)
Christians have a mandate to be of good courage whenever we come against obstacles in life. I have often heard it said, God does not want any cowardly soldiers. In our lives we will often have to make hard decisions and take risk for the cause of Christ. That means that we will sometimes face criticism that is not warranted.
In our lives there is always an element of fear, because there is almost always an element of failure in anything that you do. Yet we are not to have "cold feet" when faced with a decision to act. It takes courage to keep going when it looks like all of the odds are going against you. Yet Christians must learn to step out on faith.
God told Joshua that he was to be of good courage. Just like God was with Moses, He would be with Joshua. Accordingly Joshua was willing to lay his reputation on the line in order to follow God's mandates. Are you willing to take risk today for the cause of Christ. Are you fearful of failure and what people will think if you don't succeed? Do you allow the opinions of people govern your decisions in life?
There are 63 "fear not" statements in the Bible. That seems to say that fear is one of the biggest problems that Christians have to deal with. But as Christians, we can overcome our fears with a strong belief that God is with us and will never leave us nor forsake us. I once heard it said that "Success is never final and failure is never fatal." As God's people we must press on during the ups and downs of life. Not everyone will agree with you or pat you on the back. But when you believe that you are right, go forward. Don't let the naysayers talk you out of your hopes and dreams.
What was good for Joshua thousands of years ago, is good for us today, Be strong and of good courage!
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