| Our verse to DATE the Word on January 9 (1/9) is Joshua 1:9 |
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| Joshua 1:9 says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” |
| You Don’t Have to be AFRAID to DO What God has called you to do! Doing what God is calling of us can be scary, yes, daunting to the point of being overwhelming and frightening. We are prone to becoming FEARFUL. Fear freezes our attempts to act as God would want us. Because we can become fearful God provided encouragement to have resolve and move forward and DO WHAT HAS BEEN COMMANDED! His encouragement to Joshua here in Joshua 1:9 is a tremendous encouragement to us and worth noting. His encouragement included: Be STRONG! Be strong is the encouragement to the believer because with Christ one can do all things because He STRENGTHENS US! (Recall Philippians 4:13 and Nehemiah 6:9) Be COURAGEOUS! Be courageous is the encouragement to the believer because with Christ and His WORD abiding in us, we will OVERCOME the evil one! (Recall Joshua 1:8 and 1 John 2:14) Be SETTLED! Do not be AFRAID or DISMAYED because God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (Recall 2 Timothy 1:7) As God told Joshua to obey His commands, He also gave Him the promise of promises as He promised His PRESENCE. The most precious promise of God to His people is His presence! The one serving the Lord will always have the Lord at His side!!! And He keeps His PROMISES! 1 Corinthians 1:9 reminds us that “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” We, as believers, have been given the command to GO INTO ALL THE WORLD and MAKE DISCIPLES. We are to do so FEARLESSLY with the same promise that Joshua had as Jesus said. “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” SO STOP BEING AFRAID and GO – DO what God has commanded you to do! Verse to DATE the Word on January 9 (1/9) is Joshua 1:9. It says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Continue Strong knowing God’s promise of His presence, And remember to DATE THE WORD Bonus: As you fulfill your calling know that GOD IS WITH YOU AND HE HAS YOU SURROUNDED – SURROUNDED BY HIM!!! HE HAS YOU SURROUNDED, SURROUNDED BY HIM!!! Consider the following words to keep close to your heart: 1 word: GOD 2 words: I AM (told to Moses in Exodus 3) 3 words: I LOVE YOU (told to us throughout His Word) 4 words: I AM WITH YOU (Haggai 1:13 “Then Haggai, the LORD’S messenger, spoke the LORD’S message to the people, saying, “I am with you, says the LORD.”) 5 words: I WILL BE WITH YOU (Deuteronomy 31:23 Then He inaugurated Joshua ,and said, “Be strong and of good courage; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land of which I swore to them, and I will be with you.”) 6 words: I WILL CERTAINLY BE WITH YOU (Exodus 3:12 So God said to Moses, “I will certainly be with you) 7 words: AND BEHOLD, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS (Matthew 28:20 “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Bonus 2: And in case you needed more encouragement to do what God is calling you to do notice the following statements God made to His servants. To Gideon – Judges 6:16 And the LORD said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man.” To Joshua – Joshua 1:5 “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. To Israel – Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. To Isaac – Genesis 26:3 “Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. To Jacob – Genesis 31:3 Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your family, and I will be with you.” To Jeremiah – Jeremiah 1:8 Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,” says the LORD. To Jeremiah – Jeremiah 1:19 They will fight against you, But they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you,” says the LORD, “to deliver you.” To Israel – Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ |