Be Strong and Courageous

This is the message given in the Sunday night service in the Gettysburg United Methodist church on Sunday, September 27, 2020.  The Bible verses used are Joshua 1:1-9.

The passage we read tonight is one of my favorite passages in the Bible.  Maybe it’s one of yours, too.  It is for a lot of people.  Whenever there’s a survey of favorite Bible passages, this one always comes out near the top.

            And it’s easy to see why.  God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous.  God says that over and over again, “be strong and courageous.”  And even better, God is going to help Joshua be strong and courageous, because, God says, “I will be with you.  I will never leave you nor forsake you...The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

We all need to hear that sometimes, right?  We all need to hear God tell us to be strong and courageous, and we especially need to hear that God will be with us.  It’s hard for us to be strong and courageous a lot of times.  It’s really helpful to hear God telling us that we can do it, because God will be with us no matter what.  

Joshua especially needed to hear that, because he was in a pretty tough position.  Moses has died.  Moses, one of the greatest heroes of the Bible.  If there was a Bible Hall of Fame, Moses would be in it.  After all, Moses stood up to the mighty Pharaoh.  Moses led the people of Israel across the Red Sea into freedom.  Moses led the people of Israel for forty years of wandering in the wilderness.  Moses talked directly to God.  Moses brought the people the Ten Commandments and all of the Mosaic law.  

Not only would Moses be in the Bible Hall of Fame, he’d be in on the first ballot, no question.  After Moses died, here’s how the Bible described him: 

Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, who did all those signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land.  For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.

            That’s what the people thought of Moses.  So now, here comes Joshua.  He’s supposed to replace Moses.  He’s supposed to be the next leader of Israel.  Talk about having big sandals to fill.  These would be size twenty-five quadruple X’s.

            Now, Joshua was not unknown to the people of Israel.  He’d been Moses’ chief aide.  He’d fought for Israel and gone out on spying missions for Israel.  He’d served the people loyally for many years.

Still, there’s a big difference between being the number two guy and being number one.  There’s a big difference between executing someone else’s decisions and being the one who’s supposed to make the decisions.  Joshua had to be pretty nervous about this. 

He had to be nervous, really, on a couple of levels.  For one thing, he had to have some doubts about himself.  He had to wonder whether he could ever be as great, as wise, as strong as Moses had been.  Plus, he also had to wonder whether he could ever get out of Moses’ big shadow.  He had to wonder whether he could ever get the people to follow him the way Moses had.  After all, even as great as Moses was, there were plenty of times when the people had questioned him and threatened to rebel.  If there were times when the people had not even wanted to follow the great Moses, why would they ever want to follow Joshua?

That, to me, is one of the coolest things about the reading from Joshua that we heard today.  When we read the words God said to Joshua, it’s obvious that God understood exactly what Joshua was going through.  God knew all the doubts and fears that Joshua had.  God knew that Joshua was pretty unsure of himself, that Joshua did not know if he had what it took to lead the people of Israel.

The thing is, though, that God remembered how it was when Moses started out.  Do you remember that story from the Bible?  Moses was nobody when God called him.  He was just out tending the sheep.  When God called Moses and told him to go and talk to the great Pharaoh and tell him to let the people of Israel go, Moses’ reaction was basically, “Who, me?”  Moses came up with every excuse he could think of for why he should not be the one to go and talk to Pharaoh.  But God saw that Moses had greatness in him.  God worked with Moses, God was there for Moses, and eventually God helped Moses develop greatness and let it out for all the world to see.

God knew that was true of Joshua, too.  God knew Joshua had greatness in him, too.  He might not be Moses, but God was not asking him to be Moses.  Moses had done what Moses was supposed to do.  Now it was time for Joshua to do what Joshua was supposed to do.  God did not ask Joshua to be Moses.  God asked Joshua to be the best Joshua he could be.  In doing that, Joshua would achieve greatness on his own.

Just like with Moses, though, God knew Joshua would need some help to develop that greatness.  So, what God basically does is give Joshua a pep talk.  Listen again to what God says to Joshua:

…get ready to cross the Jordan River…I will give you every place where you set your foot…No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life.  As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you…Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land…Be strong and very courageous.  Be careful to obey all the law…Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips…Then you will be prosperous and successful…Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Replacing Moses was not going to be easy.  God knew that.  So, God told Joshua that he did not have to do it by himself.  God promised Joshua that God would be with him, every bit as much as God had been with Moses.  Then comes the big part, the part that we love, the part that God says to Joshua three times in these few verses:  Be strong and courageous.

You see, each one of us has been chosen by God to do something.  You and I may not be chosen to do great, important things that will be remembered forever, the way Moses and Joshua were.  We may be--it’s not my place to limit what God may have chosen you to do.  Maybe God has chosen you to do something great and important that will be remembered forever, I don’t know.

But for most of us, that’s not how it works.  Most of us are chosen by God to do smaller things, things that may only be remembered by a few.  Maybe by no one.  Maybe they’re not even noticed when we do them.  But they’re still important.  If God has chosen you to do something, then in God’s eyes that thing you’ve been chosen to do is every bit as important as what Moses and Joshua were chosen to do.  All people are important in God’s eyes, and everything God chooses us important people to do is an important thing, too.

And you know, the thing is that a lot of times, deep down, we really know what we’re supposed to do.  Not always, but a lot of times.  The fact is that we just don’t want to do it.  One of the main reasons we don’t want to, frankly, is because we’re scared to.

You know, the things God chooses us to do are not always easy.  The things God chooses us to do sometimes take us out of our comfort zones.  A lot of times, we’re happy with the life we already have.  And if we’re not happy, at least we’re more-or-less satisfied with it.  And even if we’re not satisfied with it, we’re at least used to it.  We know how to handle it.  We don’t know what might happen to that life if we do what God has chosen us to do.  We don’t know where the things God has chosen us to do might lead.  We don’t even know if we’re actually capable of doing the things God has chosen us to do.  Agreeing to do what God has chosen us to do can be pretty scary. 

If that’s where you are, if you feel like you’re not sure you can do what God wants you to do, know this:  God understands.  And God is saying the same thing to you that God said to Joshua.  Get ready.  I will be with you.  I will never leave you nor forsake you.  Be strong and courageous, because you will be able to do what I’ve chosen you to do.  Be strong and very courageous.  Do what I’ve told you to do.  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

God knows why we hesitate.  God knows why we’re scared.  But God knows we have what it takes, and God will bring that out in each one of us.  When we’re weak, we can rely on God’s strength.  When we’re scared, we can rely on God’s courage.

Each one of us has greatness in us.  God may not select us to lead a nation, like God did with Moses and Joshua, but again, that’s not the qualification for greatness, at least not in God’s eyes.  Greatness, in God’s eyes, means agreeing to do whatever God has chosen us to do, whether it’s something big or something small.  Remember, too, that something that seems to be small in human eyes can be something big and great in God’s eyes.  Human beings might not consider us to be on a level with Moses or Joshua, but doing what God has chosen us to do will make us hall-of-famers to God.

            You have greatness in you.  In God’s eyes, we all have greatness in us.  If we trust God, and rely on God, we can say yes when God chooses us.  And we can be strong and courageous, just like Joshua was.