Strength to Move Forward When Courage Feels Out of Reach
๐ช๐๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ฃ
โข What is something youโre incredibly good at (e.g., a sport, a hobby, a skill)? How did you become great at it?ย
โข Describe a time when you were given a task that you were sure was impossible to do. What made the task seem impossible?ย
โข Is there a person you always turn to for help? What is it about them that makes you run to them during a difficult situation?
๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐
๐๐ง๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ๐ท๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ฐ๐ด๐ฉ๐ถ๐ข ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ถ๐ฏ, ๐๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ๐ดโ ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ต, โ๐๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ๐ท๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ. ๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ฆ, ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ, ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ, ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐จ๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ, ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ด๐ณ๐ข๐ฆ๐ญ. . . . ๐๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ? ๐๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด. ๐๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ฎ๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ฅ,ย ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐ค๐ ๐๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ฌ๐๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐ค.โ ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐จ๐ ๐ญ:๐ญโ๐ฎ, ๐ต
(Read also ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐จ๐ ๐ญ:๐ฏโ๐ด.)ย
With Moses gone, Joshua had big shoes to fill. The Lord gave him the task of leading His people in conquering the Promised Land, which meant encountering battle after battle. In the same way, as we follow God and pursue His purposes, we will face many battles. As we study the story of Joshua and the Israelites, we will learn truths that can help us have courage as we face battles today.
๐ญ. ๐๐ผ๐ฑโ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ.
โ. . . ๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ฆ, ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ, ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ, ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐จ๐ช๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ, ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ด๐ณ๐ข๐ฆ๐ญ. ๐๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐จ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ, ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ข๐ด ๐ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ช๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ๐ด.โย ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐จ๐ ๐ญ:๐ฎโ๐ฏ
(Read also ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐จ๐ ๐ญ:๐ฐ.)ย
Courage begins with the certainty that it is God who calls us and He knows what Heโs doing. He has factored in everything, even our fears and limitations. What area of obedience, service, leadership, or mission do you sense God is leading you to walk in during this season? How have you seen His grace at work, giving you assurance that His strength will carry you through?ย
๐ฎ. ๐๐ผ๐ฑโ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐.ย
โ. . . ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ข๐ด ๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ. ๐ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ. . . . ๐๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ? ๐๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด. ๐๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ฎ๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐๐ค๐ ๐๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ฌ๐๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐ค.โ ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐จ๐ ๐ญ:๐ฑ,๐ต
(Read also ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐จ๐ ๐ญ:๐ฒ.)ย
Godโs command to be courageous is inseparable from His promise to be present. Joshuaโs confidence was not rooted in his military ability nor leadership experience but in Godโs covenant faithfulness. As He was with His people, He is with us, too. Isnโt that the greatest assurance one could ever need? Wherever we may find ourselves, no matter how overwhelming the situation may seem, we know full well that Godโthe all-powerful, infinitely wise, ever-faithful Oneโis with us. How does knowing that God is with you change the way you look at your situation?
๐ฏ. ๐๐ผ๐ฑโ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ.
โ๐๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด . . . ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ธ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ฉ, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ต๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ต ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต, ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฎ๐ข๐บ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ค๐ค๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ธ๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ช๐ต. ๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ข๐บ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ถ๐ค๐ค๐ฆ๐ด๐ด.โ ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐๐จ๐ ๐ญ:๐ณโ๐ด
Godโs word, often referred to as His โlaw,โ reveals to us Godโs character, will, and proven track record. It also provides guidance and wisdom for living. As we continually meditate on, confess, and live by His word, the more we know His purposes, the stronger we become, and the more we experience success in His purposes for our lives. What are Godโs promises for those who will confess, meditate on, and obey His word (Joshua 1:8)?
Ultimately, our greatest source of courage is the gospel. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we have been reconciled to God and brought into His presence. Because Jesus has conquered sin and death, we can move forward in faith even when circumstances seem overwhelming.
๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก
โข Recall situations in the past when God came through for you. You can revisit your journal if youโve written about them before, or write a journal entry today to help you remember.
โข Knowing that it is God who ultimately fulfills His mission and purpose, what steps can you take to keep your heart secure and your faith in Him unwavering?
โข Think of someone who is feeling incapable or lacking strength in their current situation. How can you lead him/her to the God who promises us His presence and encourages us by His word?ย
๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ
โข Thank God for His presence, His calling, and His faithfulness. Pray for eyes of faith that would help remind you and build you up as you become more aware of His presence and work in your life.
โข Ask God to give you the courage and strength you need to carry out the tasks He has set for you.
โข Pray for courage and strength for your family, friends, small group members, co-workers, classmates, and people you know who need Godโs power over their situation.ย