Strong and Courageous

Last week I read Deuteronomy 31:1 - 8. It's just before the Israelites enter the promised land and Moses tells the people that he won't be going with them.  He tells them to be strong and courageous. He also tells them that Joshua will go ahead of them when they cross the river.  Moses then speaks to Joshua and tells him that he needs to be stong and courageous as well.

After I had read this I started to think about what these section of the bible meant and this is what I came up with.

Being strong doesn't only refer to being physically strong, maybe it's a metaphor for being spiritually strong?? The way that we are spiritually strong is by growing our faith in God and trusting him more. We need to be exercising our faith - that way it gets stronger, kind of like a muscle. 

Being strong and courageous goes hand in hand. You need to be strong to be courageous.  If you have faith and trust God it's a lot easier to be courageous and go out on a limb for him. To take that jump and do what he wants because we'll know that with him we can do it.  

I think this is why Moses tells the people to be strong and courageous, because they need to be both.  He also says that God goes before them, this helps to build them up and strengthen them, thus helping them to be courageous.  

The part where Moses tells the people that he's not going to cross the Jordan river with them and then goes and tells Joshua that he will go. I read it as Moses way of telling him that he's passed the baton onto him and now Joshua will take" his place to lead the people in to the promised land.  I then though about how this applies in our lives and thought about how leaders eventually have to move on so that new people can move into leadership, kind of like presidents and other people in leadership. 

 

A New Thought After Talking With My Bestie

 

After discussing these thoughts were Terri, she pointed out that for their to be new leader, Moses chose Joshua but alos Joshua hung around Moses and showed him that he had leadership potential.  From this thought we got the idea that for a new leader to rise up, someone needs to show leadership poetential and someone needs to see this and start mentoring them and growing them to take over from them. This is what Mel, my mentor, friend and pastor at church as done with a few of the young adults who are now in leadership.  Without this, there won't be new leaders, like with the Isrealites.  After Joshua died no one took over from him and things got a bit messy.  

 

xKx