Day Eighteen
9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
I want to highlight today, going on from yesterday’s devotion that Joshua had been in this same place 40 years before, and that 10 men had seemingly robbed him of his destiny. Imagine, doing the right thing, being obedient to God, spying out the land, and instead of shrinking back at the sight of the giants, being full of faith and declaring “We can do this! Let’s go up and take the land God has promised us” only to have people tell you, you are crazy! The other 10 spies convinced everyone that what Joshua and Caleb were advocating, was a bad proposition and that God wasn’t in it, and that what they were proposing was destined to fail.
Actually most of us don’t have to imagine! We’ve been there before too! We have felt like God had given us promises, and we were excited to move forward in faith to possess them when others around us manage to convince everyone that we have not heard from God or are jeopardizing the stability of the group. Maybe people felt threatened by our faith and influence and just shut us down, preferring to take things in a different direction. I know that pain, I’ve been there before too, but when you read the end of the story you realize that God always gets His way! Those people all died in the wilderness and never saw the promised land. God was still faithful to Joshua and Caleb, now as leaders. They weren’t peers but respected elders of the people and had the full support of history, experience and a group of much younger and more enthusiastic people willing to follow them. I just want to speak into the fear you may have of “trying again” and reiterate today’s verse into that fear, be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Blessings,
Jane Evans