Strong and Courageous

A few days ago, I sat down to spend time with the Lord. This year I committed to reading through the Bible Chronologically again (my favorite approach), and our reading was in Joshua. It’s always amazing to me how the Lord can speak to my particular circumstances through His Word even when it is scheduled in advance and all mapped out way before the virus crisis hit us.

So in Joshua 1-3, the Israelites are getting prepared to cross the Jordan (finally!) and to step into the Promised Land. I felt a prompt to highlight every time the words “strong and courageous” appeared-not a coincidence in light of how uncertain and even scary these times are. My daughter is a healthcare provider. She has a constantly changing work situation with a husband and toddler at home as well. My son, his wife, and two kids are moving this week, and they were trying to get their house moved before the restrictions in their area prevented them from making a move. Also, my other son is adjusting his work schedule and planning a wedding in June while my hubby and I are helping to lead a church through these uncharted waters. The words “be strong and courageous” are so applicable to ALL of us right now as we navigate this tension between living and leading under scrutiny and dealing with the anxiety that continually tries to come in and overwhelm us.

As I read these chapters in Joshua, they felt like the perfect word for my life (and probably yours too) because the children of God were going into uncharted places for them. They were stepping out in faith and doing something different after 40 years of wandering the wilderness. I think they got pretty good in the wilderness. Perhaps wilderness wandering had become a comfort zone of sorts for them. And now they are standing on the banks of the Jordan River (at flood stage and most likely VERY intimidating looking). They were casting their eyes toward the Promised Land, dealing with all the emotions that come with new ground, uncertain times, and raging waters that were out of their control. Sounds familiar, right?!?!

Thus we find the reason why you can read the words “strong and courageous” so many times in these chapters. When I read through to chapter 4, it reminds me of a vital Truth. They gave river crossing instructions (that’s a great story and blog for another day), and the priests carried the ark to the middle of the river, then the people crossed over. Usually, we focus on the twelve leaders,(one from each tribe) who each took a rock from the middle of the river and built an altar on the other side, to worship the Lord. I love that and agree that it is so important to celebrate what God does in delivering and protecting us as we obey Him.

BUT this time, God redirected my focus back to verse 9 of chapter 4:
9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.

Did you see that? Not only did the leaders (see v. 8) take 12 stones and build an altar on the other side, but Joshua took stones and built an altar RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RIVER- at the very place where the Presence of God protected and provided and guided the children of Israel. How cool is that??

At that moment God challenged me that it’s not only important to celebrate and worship the Lord on the other side BUT to take time in the middle to recognize that His Presence is with me guiding me, protecting me and providing for me. My job is not to plan how I will celebrate and worship on the other side but to recognize and celebrate and worship Him in the midst of the river where the waters are intimidating, and life is uncertain. If I can learn how to do that well, then I will be closer to being “strong and courageous,” no matter what comes my way.

[su_spacer]My hubby has been saying from the beginning of COVID-19 that “times of great crisis always lead to opportunities for great ministry.” This pandemic time is our time as leaders to take the words from Joshua to heart to be “be strong and courageous” as we remember to celebrate and worship God even in the middle. His Presence is with us, and He will guide us if we keep our eye on Jesus and keep stepping out in faith. How have you seen or experienced God’s Presence in a real or different way during the virus crisis so far? Celebrate that. Worship Him, and let’s stay open to how God wants to use us in these times of great ministry opportunity-then when we get to the ‘other side’ the celebration will be even more.

Rachel Lovingood has been doing ministry with her husband Jeff for 30 years and they have 5 grown children. She is an author and teacher with a knack for teaching Biblical truths in a simple, fun, relevant way so that they can be applied to everyday life. Her passion is to see lives transformed by the Word of God which happens when Scripture is applied to our lives. Rachel serves as a Women’s Ministry leader at her home church of FBC Cleveland TN.