No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.

Joshua 1:5 

The Grounds for Our Courage. If anyone needed courage, it was the children of Israel after hearing: “When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid…” They weren’t told, however, simply not to fear, they were told why they need not fear: “because the Lord, your God will be with you.” And again: “Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory. “Yes, they needed courage. Courage, we know, is the ability to do something despite the presence of fear. Or in the words of Jill Briscoe: “Courage is fear that said its prayers.”

Joshua must himself be under command; no man’s dignity or dominion sets him above the law of God. He is to encourage himself with the promise and presence of God. Let not the sense of thine own infirmities dishearten thee; God is all-sufficient.

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And courage is found in knowing that God is there. God being with him was the reason Joshua was told not to fear when he was about to lead the people of God into the Promised Land. “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous…” While you probably don’t need courage to face the threat of horses and chariots or to lead a people into a (literal) promised land, most likely there is something in your life that is tempting you to fear. Fear goes beyond the debilitating feeling of terror, frightened by danger because something bad might happen. Fear includes “an anxious concern” and “a reason for alarm.” (Merriam-Webster) I wonder: if His presence is a sufficient answer for God to give, why is it so often not a sufficient answer for us to receive?

Do you have cause for alarm today? Maybe there’s an anxious concern weighing upon your heart? Are you worried that something bad might happen? Technically, these are all variations of fear. The antidote for fear, whether for the children of Israel as they faced a powerful army, Joshua crossing into the promised land, or any of the myriad of anxious concerns you encounter in a given day, is to remember that God is with you. Just as He promised not to leave Joshua, He promised to never leave you. A.W. Tozer stated, “The knowledge that we are never alone calms the troubled sea of our lives and speaks peace to our souls.”Remembering that He is with us allows us to remain peaceful, even when everything around us is chaotic.

 “God’s strength behind you, His concern for you, His love within you, and His arms beneath you are more than sufficient for the job ahead of you.”

William Arthur Ward