Be Strong and Courageous
Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Joshua 1:6-9
The Reverend Anne Benefield
Geneva Presbyterian Church, October 21, 2007
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Moses said to the Israelites, “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in His ways, and observing His commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying Him, and holding fast to Him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”
Introduction: The passage we just read is sometimes referred to as “the Gospel of the Old Testament” because it tells of the loving, compassionate God doing incredible things to save a frail people. The voice of Moses distills the alternatives that the wandering Israelites face. The choice is theirs. Unlike when Pharaoh held their life and death in his hands and chose according to his whims, the Israelites now hold their own lives in their own hands. We, too, hold our own lives in our hands. The choice is ours.
The passage I am going to read now is the command that God gave to Joshua as he was commissioned to lead the people following the death of Moses. As we open the book of Joshua, the people are camped on the plains of Moab about seven miles east of the Jordan, where they have been for months. In verse 3, God promises Joshua, “I will give you every place where you set your foot.” Where they actually went, God gave them the land. But where they didn’t go, the Canaanites continued to hide out and harass them.
The same is true for us: To grow in faith we must believe the promises of God and desire to see them fulfilled in our own lives. [Ralph F. Wilson, pastor@joyfulheart.com, retrieved 10/18/2007]
Joshua 1:5-9
God said to Joshua, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you: I will not fail you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous; for you shall put this people in possession of the land that I swore to their ancestors to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to act in accordance with all the law that my servant Moses commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you may be successful wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall be successful. I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
On Thursday, Carolyn Chou came by to see me. You may remember her. She and her husband, Yuan, were married here and we baptized their children, Matthew and Sabrina, who is now 20 month old daughter. Carolyn brought Sabrina with her. Sabrina is in the throws of separation anxiety. As Sabrina sat on her mother’s lap, she cried. And she cried. And she cried. There wasn’t much we could do. Even though Sabrina was sitting in her mother’s lap, she was thinking about her mother leaving her. So even though she was touching her mother, it wasn’t enough.
I feel that way sometimes, too. I can be hugging Olya and worrying about keeping her safe from all the things that can hurt a young girl. I can be holding my paycheck in my hand and still be afraid I won’t have enough money to pay the bills. I can be enjoying lunch with my Mother and still be concerned because she won’t be here forever.
Perhaps most importantly, I can be resting in the everlasting arms of our Lord and still, like Sabrina, be sure God is no where to be found. Our passage today starts where we left off last week, not because it is the next passage in I Kings, because the central idea is the same. God tells Joshua, “I will be with you.” God says, “Trust me. I will never leave you.”
What would our lives be like if we really trusted God? What if I truly believed that God was with Olya everywhere she goes? What if I knew that somehow we would always be able to scrape together enough money for the bills and if we couldn’t, God would be there with us? What if I remembered that my Mother will live for all eternity and I will join her there after we leave this life? I want to invite you this morning to take a minute to write on the blank piece of paper in your bulletin one, two, or three areas where it would help you to trust God? I’m going to lower my head and silently pray to give you some time to do this. There are pencils at the pews if you don’t have something to write with.
Prayer
Rebecca Cohsenbein told this story in Christian Reader:
We were enjoying a series of youth crusades at our church. It had been an exciting time as our youngest child and then our middle child made a public declaration to follow Jesus. During the final night of the crusade our oldest son very slowly made his way to the altar.
Following the service Dad commented on his decision. Our son replied, “Yes, it was very hard to make it down front.” Our son took the speaker’s instructions of “every head bowed and every eye closed literally—making his way to the altar without looking. [Rebecca Cohsenbein, Kettering, OH, Christian Reader, “Lite Fare.”]
That young man trusted God. Let’s try to follow him, but to avoid any falls, we’ll keep our eyes open!
The second thing our passage says is to be strong and courageous. Again this is a message throughout the Bible. Angels and messengers of God always begin by saying, “Do not be afraid,” but this is more positive: “Be strong and courageous.”
I found a number of quotes about courage. General George Patton said, “Courage is fear that has said its prayers.” Thomas Fuller said, “Many would be cowards if they had enough courage.” The quote that I think is most powerful was by Billy Graham. He said, “Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are stiffened.”
That’s the quote that most relates to Joshua. He was to stand and be courageous before the people, a frightened people without much spine.
When I think of courageous people, I think of people facing great trials. I think about people like Lincoln, Churchill, Solzhenitsyn, who all faced grave challenges. But at this point, we aren’t facing the same kinds of trials. We are comfortable in our lives. That’s when I thought about Florence Nightingale. According to Wikipedia,
She was born into a rich, upper-class well-connected English family…Inspired by what she took as a Christian divine calling, experienced first in 1837 and later throughout her life, she committed herself to nursing. This demonstrated a passion on her part, and also a rebellion against the expected role for a woman of her status, which was to become a wife and mother. In those days, nursing was a career with a poor reputation, filled mostly by poorer woman, “hangers-on” who followed the armies. Nightingale announced her decision to enter nursing evoking intense anger and distress from her family particularly her mother.
She achieved incredible things in nursing, mathematics, and visual illustrations of the body. She made the courageous decision to respond to God’s call. She chose to be strong and courageous.
A few minutes ago, I encouraged you to write down an area or two where you need to trust God. Now I’m going to invite you to pray silently to ask God where you need to be strong and courageous…where is God calling you beyond your comfortable zone?
Silent Prayer
Finding our call often involves the third thing that God commanded Joshua: Meditate on the Word of God day and night. We are to envelop ourselves in the Bible which means surrounding ourselves with the presence of God.
Ann Musico tells this delightful story about her son:
I recently prayed with my 5-year-old son as he accepted Jesus into his life. I carefully explained that Jesus now lived in his heart. Several days later, he was sitting at the table with his head down, holding open the neck of his T-shirt, speaking very quietly. I asked what he was doing and he told me, “Just talking to Jesus.” [Ann Musico, NY, Today’s Christian Woman, “Heart to Heart”]
Meditating on the Word of God isn’t hard, but it does take discipline. We can take time to read a verse or passage over and over. We can memorize verses. We can listen, quieting our hearts to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us through the Word. We can consider how the Word fits with our lives. We can become emotionally involved, allowing ourselves to feel what God feels through His Word. We can move from meditation to application—connecting our thoughts to action. [A sample from the best-selling Quest Study Bible. Copyright © Zondervan Publishing House.]
All those are simple steps. It’s the daily practice that is hard. I read a fascinating story about Cremona, Italy, where history’s best violins were made. Andrea Mosconi is responsible for keeping the precious, 300-year-old violins in shape that are on display in the museum in the city hall.
Six days a week before the museum opens, Mosconi plays each violin for 6-7 minutes. He starts with basic music scales and then makes his way to Bach, Tchaikovsky, and Bartok. Why does he do this day after day? A violin needs to be played to perform at its best level. “The wood gets tired,” explains Karl Roy, a German violinmaker and one of the field’s top experts. [Bill Norman, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; sources: David Yoder, “Playing Italy’s Finest Violins,” New York Times (6/3/07) and Ian Fisher, “Keeping treasured violins forever young,” International Herald Tribune (6/3/07)]
We’re the same as those instruments. We need to practice our faith to stay vibrant. Remember St. Frances’ prayer:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen
