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Your courageous conduct :
The comfort of God involves a rebuilding that is from Him. And may the nuances of it be written in your heart and mine, as we continue to study the words of the psalmist, Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; May Your good Spirit lead me on level ground. [Psalm 143:10] Rebuilding is the promise that He has spoken and He will also do it; In fact, He does it, by speaking it. It is the manner in which He operates, as seen in the rebuilding of the nation of Israel, Then the nations which are left all around you will know that I the Lord have rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate. I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it. [Ezekiel 36:36]
And since He is the unchanging God, who remains true to His word forever, it is the truth that you can cling to, during this season of overwhelming upheaval that has seen many a life experience tragic loss and emptiness. It could be the scenery of your life right now, but the comfort of His rebuilding is at hand. And your responsibility lies in looking unto Him in prayer and faith. Thus says the Lord God, ‘I will also let the house of Israel inquire of Me, to do this for them, I will increase their men like a flock. [Ezekiel 36:37]
Prayer – a precious privilege :
Prayer is not an agitation in the courts of God, demanding what you think you need. For your Heavenly Father knows what you need, and it is in prayer that you receive from Him, what He is waiting to give you. And prayer is the privilege you enjoy, to call unto Him, that He may answer you, to show you great and mighty things that you do not know . [Jeremiah 33:3] Life’s circumstances can sometimes leave you high and dry, having no plan of your own to cope with it all. But God knows the plans that He has for you, to give you a hope and a future. He speaks His promise to you, which when confessed by you in faith, needs to then lead you to a conduct that is aligned to it, in order to progress towards what God has already prepared for you. It is the spiritual reality, which with a right understanding ,can cause you to walk in the awareness of what He has already done, enabling you to apply it’s truth in your life’s pilgrimage when the situation demanded it.
He has blessed you with every spiritual blessing in Christ in the heavenly realms. [Ephesians 1:3] Therefore, when you do not know what to do, but turn to God in prayer, He will answer you, to counsel you, and lead you forward, to walk in the good way, that you may find rest in your soul. And today especially it is very easily understandable, for we stand facing rivers of difficulty, because of the prevailing pandemic, that is making the road ahead uncertain and unclear. But on that momentous day, all those years ago, as he stood on the verge of a miracle, it was another river that Joshua stood in front of. And he heard God’s voice that was both encouraging and empowering, though the situation was tremendously challenging.
Promised Land – the spiritual reality :
‘Every place that the sole of your feet shall tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses’. [Joshua 1:3] The rushing waters of river Jordan were in front of him, and behind him a multitude of people who could be stiff necked and recalcitrant! But, ‘I have given you the land’, was the Lords promise to him, a declaration of something that He had already accomplished. And, He is not a man, that He should lie. It was the spiritual reality, that had to be translated to the physical, by receiving it, to walk in it. His future task in the promised land, that of dividing it as an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel was also the declaration of God. ‘Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers, to give them’. [vs 6]
And yet, in his present circumstance, it could have been with a sense of ‘deja vu’ that he stood once more at the very place where forty years earlier, the promise of God had been near and yet so far. Thoughts that weakened him could have risen in him, for the promise of God, still remained a promise! But faith, is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. [Hebrews 11:1] And the Lord did not leave Joshua defenseless, for He laid out to him the path of progress. There was something that he needed to do in the present, a responsibility that was his. He had a role to play. It was with his co operation, in the assurance of God’s own strengthening ever abiding presence, that it was all going to be possible.
God’s word of promise – the seed :
And a change in imagery will bring forth an easier understanding of the truth. For the Lord’s word of having given the land to Joshua, was like the seed, and him dividing the land among the tribes, it’s fruit. But there is always a gestation time and a procedure that is involved. It is true even in your life, as it was in Joshua’s.
The promise and your responsibility :
For, in your need, for it to be met, God gives you a word of promise. And your responsibility lies in receiving it by faith, and sowing it in the soil of your heart, and holding on to it with patient perseverance until the Lord brings about the fruit of it, in the manifestation of His promise that sees your need fulfilled. In the life of Joshua, the process by which the spiritual reality would become practically real, something that he and the Israelites could taste and see, was prescribed with clarity by God. It also acknowledged the challenges that lay ahead, in describing what Joshua’s nature and conduct needed to be, Only, be strong and very courageous!
Only, be strong and very courageous’, were the Lord God’s words to Joshua. And it must have struck a chord in him as being precisely what he did not have at that moment! It may be your condition too, with challenges all around you. You may feel that you are a vulnerable vessel, a jar of clay. But you have the treasure of God’s word in you, to guard and guide you. The Lord God step by step charted out the course to Joshua. He showed the way so that he could proceed ahead laying aside his fears and doubts, ‘Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do all the law according to which Moses, My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper where ever you go.
‘This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. [Joshua 1:7,8] And above all, in your life and mine, as He promised Joshua, He is Emmanuel, God with us, and in the new covenant, God in us. Christ in you, is the hope of glory. It is the fundamental and rudimentary truth that needs to be your foundation. His very presence is the guarantee that your promise will come to it’s fulfillment. For He is not the God who gives you His word as a seed, and then washes His hands off! He is with you every step of the way, in every challenge that comes in your path to your godly destiny.
In the battles against the enemy kings, God’s promise to Joshua was His ever abiding presence. And if God is for you, who can be against you? In the comfort of his strong God, Joshua’s conduct could certainly be courageous; and so can yours be! Christ is all that you need in every situation of your life. And He is with you, that you may not fear evil, even in a valley of shadow of death. As the writer to the Hebrews has spoken you can confidently say that the Lord is your Helper, and mortal man cannot trouble you, for God has said that He will never leave you or forsake you. [Hebrews 13:5,6] Moses as he led the people of Israel in the wilderness, in unknown and difficult terrain, prayed that the Lord’s presence would be with them to make them special people. But Lord Jesus came into the world, full of grace and truth, to say that you are special to God, for He is your Heavenly Father. And it is in this close and intimate relationship with Him, as you grow in the knowledge of Him that you can become strong, throwing away the shackles of the enemy, who comes only to steal, kill and destroy, and not to rebuild and restore you.
a. Strong – by knowing God :
Daniel was in exile, taken captive by a cruel enemy to a foreign nation, where everything would have been alien and strange to him. One only needs to watch in sadness, the war unfolding before our very own eyes right now, to understand the enormity of it. But there was one thing that protected and promoted Daniel. He lived in a continual awareness that the Almighty God was with him, to be led and empowered by Him. And therefore, it is written in the word of God concerning him, Those who know their God will be strong and take action. [Daniel 11:32] It is what praying in a relationship with God in faith can bring about in your life too. It is the confidence with which Paul is able to write to the church at Philippi, Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. [Philippians 4:6]
Speak to God in prayer, concerning any problem that arises in your life, big or small. For, bottling it within you, or turning to people, can invariably make it bigger. As the words of the familiar melody say with truth and clarity -Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh, what needless pain we bear; all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer! He will answer you when you call, to make you bold with strength in your soul. [Psalm 138:3] And knowing who He is would make a supernatural difference, is what the Lord made clear to the Samaritan woman at the well [John 4:10]. Your words as you speak to Him in prayer may be few, but your prayer will be powerful because you are praying to a God who is powerful.
b. Strong – in the Lord &power of His might :
Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. [Ephesians 6:10] Your struggle even today is not against flesh and blood, but against the evil forces in the world. And you can be strong in the Lord, to come against them, as you are in union with Him. It is the communion that you celebrate, when you partake to become part of the Lord’s table, as you remember all that He has already accomplished for you on the Cross of Calvary. It is a covenant relationship, by which all that is His belongs to you. He knows, what you do not know, He has what you do not have, and He can do what you cannot do. It is why you can say, ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’. And He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, will He not together with Him give you all that you will ever need in your life?. [Romans 8:32] It is knowing this truth that will give you strength, make you mighty in His power, to do what is right, what God wants you to do.
c. Strong ; courageous – to do what is right :
And yet, there can be strong cowards and weak heroes! The disciples had the strength to run, but did not have the courage to stand, when the soldiers came to arrest the Lord. And the Son of God stood, to be nailed to the Cross in apparent weakness, to become the Savior of the world. Courage is the strength to do what is right and necessary, and cowardice is having the strength to do what is right, and not doing it. But the blessing of God comes when your decisions are not based on convenience, but a conviction that comes by knowing God more and more, giving you the courage to do what is right. Joshua could be pictured as a father, who needed to divide his inheritance, that was a word of promise from God, rightly and justly among his offspring, who in this case were the twelve tribes of Israel. And God promised him the strength and courage that he would need to fulfill it.
Today, you may be a parent, who wishes to do what is right, when it comes to settling your children. And the promise of God comes to you too, as a seed. Though your present environment may speak to the contrary, you have a God who is a Rewarder, Redeemer, Restorer and Rebuilder. Therefore, He will give you, and you shall give to your children, as you hold on to His word to trust and obey.
Courage and not cowardice :
Timidity or cowardice is not from Him, for He has not given you a spirit of fear, but one of power, love and a sound mind, one that is calm, disciplined and with understanding, giving clarity that drives away all confusion. [2 Timothy 1:7] When fear or doubt creeps in, you can take captive every thought to make it obedient unto Christ, who has promised never to leave you, forsake or abandon you. His favorable hand is upon you, to give you the courage and the impetus to move forward in His path for your life.
d. Strong -by focusing on God’s word :
God has given you the seed and it’s fruit, in His word of promise to you. And to progress from sowing the seed in your heart, to tasting it’s fruit, God has given you the procedure, as He did to Joshua who certainly needed to be very strong and courageous, to execute a challenging and complicated task, ‘Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses, My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. [Joshua 1:7] To prosper is to do the will of God, walk in His plan for your life. It becomes possible as you remain steadfastly focused upon His word to hear what He speaks to you through it.
Being in His presence in worship and prayer, in a congregation or in quiet solitude, spending time meditating upon His word, are all indispensable, for it is with your eyes fixed upon Jesus, that you are called to run the race set before you. Christianity is not a killjoy! For, he whom the Son sets free is free indeed. You have the freedom as a child of God to do His good and perfect will for your life. Freedom that leads you in course of time to hurt and misery, as you walk following the dictates of your own self, is not real freedom. It is giving the devil a foothold into your life.
For there is an enemy, the devil, who seeks to distract you into seemingly more attractive directions that lead you away from the plans and purposes of God, that He has already prepared that you may walk in them. To be held by God’s word, therefore, needs to be your prayer, so that you may subvert the plans of the evil one, and yield and submit to the plan of the good God in your life.
e. Strong – for you are doing a great work :
He was rebuilding, ruined city walls, not building a magnificent temple, inlaid with gold. But, when your skills are employed in fulfilling your calling by a great God, it is always a great work! It was knowing this powerful, unassailable truth that made Nehemiah stand strong, to resist the wiles of the enemy. [Nehemiah 6:3] And when you are a wise woman, you are building your house, says the great God. [Proverbs 14:1] Thus, as a mother, father, son or daughter, as you employ the position in which God has placed you, for His glory, you are indeed doing a great job. And echoing God’s counsel to Joshua are the words of the familiar psalm, to show how a man prospers to have good success. He prospers because he does only what will cause him to prosper.
And it is by meditating upon the word of God day and night. He will be like a tree planted by the waters, that bears it’s fruit in season. [Psalm 1] And though the people all around the world may consider this to be a disastrous season, This is your season; you will be fruitful, for the seed has come from God, and it will be the fulfillment of God’s promise to you, as He spoke to Joshua, ‘I have given …and, you shall give’. And there is a role you play, it is to be strong and courageous, in His strength and mighty power, as you stay focused upon His word, to believe, confess and align your conduct according to it.
HIS word strengthens and prepares you :
Even as the Angel of God announced to her, what was about to happen, something that to Mary must have been hugely unexpected and extraordinary, Mary moved from a position of being initially troubled, to ultimately receiving the great promise of God, His favor upon her, in humble submission. It happened as she pondered or meditated upon God’s word to her. [Luke 1:29] The apostle Peter wondered within himself about the vision and the voice of God that had come to him when he was praying in the terrace. [Acts 10;17] And it was then that the men from the house of Cornelius came, for Cornelius had received a divine instruction from God. It removed all misgivings from the heart of Peter who then embarked on a journey that would end in Gentile believers being gathered into the fold of God for the very first time.
Even in your life, as your mind and heart is fixed upon the word of God, God’s word will tune you to hear the voice of God, that will give you strength to receive what God has already given you, to also give as He has promised you. He Himself will become your strength that you may be able to do all what is right and necessary strongly and courageously. And as you come to Him acknowledging your need for His word, and His gracious presence, may your heart be filled with the assurance of His promise, that He will never leave you or forsake you. And may it see you experience in the coming days the goodness of God in the land of the living.
In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
