Daily Devotions
July 9th, 2009 by Pastor SolleyJosh 1:3-7
3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.
4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.
5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
6 Be strong and of a good courage : for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
What is it to be of “good courage”? God charged Joshua to be a man of “good courage”. There have been many men of courage seen in the Bible. Goliath would have been a man of courage. To stand and challenge an entire army day after day would demand courage. But was that good courage, was that the courage God is talking about?
The phrase good courage is first found in the Bible when Israel was sending spies into the Promised Land. It has to do with depending upon the Lord for action about to be taken, for decisions that are about to be made, for a life that is to be lived. It has to do with going on for the Lord in trying times as well as good times. It has to do with always pleasing the Lord, enduring for the Lord, staying faithful to the Lord. A study of the phrase shows that the people of God often have reason to fear in the flesh, but always can depend upon the Lord to carry them through. Be strong and be of a good courage today.