Courage to Obey

“Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ servant, saying, ‘Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory. No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go.’” Joshua 1:1-7

Have you ever been so overcome with fear that you abandoned God’s plan and settled for a lesser and, humanly speaking, safer solution? Israel did. The first time they approached the Promised Land, all they saw was the enemy in waiting.

God had given the land to them, but their faith waned at the sight of the people living within the city walls. Their focus blurred at the thoughts of battle, and their strength failed because they looked at their circumstances more than God’s ability. Fear scored a mighty victory at Kadesh-barnea. However, forty years later life was different for Israel. The people had come to a place of obedient trust in God. Yet little had changed in Canaan - the enemies were just as strong, the walls just as fortified, and the land just as vast.

The change was within the hearts of God’s people. They were no longer controlled by fear and disbelief. Instead, the new generation of Israelites were controlled by faith in God. They had been trained by wilderness trials and strengthened by delays. The courage to obey God had taken hold, and Canaan was no match for God’s people. When we trust God entirely, obedience is always the natural progression.

“It is not the part of faith to question, but to obey.” - A.B. Simpson