Eternal Encouragement
God is the unending source of our strength when we need the courage to stand firm and share the hope of Jesus Christ against the pressures of each day.
“I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them...Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:3, 5-9
There is a reason for repetition. It helps us to remember. Cognitive science has largely held that there are rates at which we remember and retain information. Studies can vary, but many have shown that we retain 10% of what we read, 20% of what we hear, 30% of what we see, 50% of what we see and hear, 70% of what we discuss, 80% of what we practice, and 90% of what we teach to others. Science reinforces what we already learn from the wisdom of God.
Is it any surprise then the process of learning that we see demonstrated in this text? How does God reinforce His message of be strong and courageous to Joshua? What specifically does He do? He tells Joshua to be strong and courageous. He says it again and reminds Him of how He has seen and heard this message as he walked with Moses. He reminds Joshua to practice the way in which he can draw strength from the Word of God each day by meditating day and night and then putting what he learns into practice. Lastly, God tells Joshua to teach all of this to the people. Can you see the symmetry between science and the God who created science? Mark Batterson says that every ology (or study of something) is a branch of theology (the study of God).
What was the most important message that God had for Joshua that Joshua needed to get into the depths of his heart, mind, and soul? God said be strong and courageous. Know that I am with you, for you, and will never forsake you. You need to know that I go ahead of you and am the source of the strength that you need. Why do you think God starts with strength and courage? Is it not because He knows how fear can impact our faith? Is it not because fear is the source of all of our strongest negative emotions? God wants to banish fear from our lives so that we can be free to live faithfully.
When God says be strong He is not telling Joshua to be something that he is not. This is not fake it until you make it. This is not just believe and it will be type of thinking. The Hebrew word for strong is better understood as to draw strength from something, to stand firm, to hold fast. This is not independence. This is not to be strong on one's own strength. This is absolute dependence on God as the source of Joshua's strength. So God is saying get your strength each moment of each day from Me.
God then takes his command a step further. He says be courageous. He is saying strengthen your heart with the strength I give you based on my promises and presence. It is the heart that moves us. It is our hearts that we live and move and have our being. It is in the heart that we first believe then we see God move.
How can you embrace the process of growing in strength and courage that God used to prepare Joshua for the battles he would face and the tests that would be part of his journey? How can you grow in understanding by going from reading to hearing, from hearing to hearing and seeing, from hearing and seeing to practicing, and from practicing to sharing what you learn with others as you teach them all that you learn and experience on your journey with the Almighty?
“My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly. I am bowed down and brought very low; all day long I go about mourning. My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes. Lord, I wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God. I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin. Lord, do not forsake me; do not be far from me, my God. Come quickly to help me, my Lord and my Savior.”
Psalms 38:4-6, 10, 15, 18, 21-22
How would you describe how you feel physiologically when you are afraid? Can you relate to David's descriptions above? Have you felt the loss of desire to eat, feelings of weakness, the desire to run and hide, hope dimming, and the mental tape of shame, regret, and guilt playing on repeat in your head? Sin separates us from our strongest selves. Fear separates us from living with boldness and courage. The question is not if you will experience the pain of sin or the puncture wounds of the dagger of fear, but how you will cope through those times.
David turns to God. David demonstrates trust by slowing down and practicing what he has previously learned. He remembers how when he takes time to pray and praise God that his strength returns. He goes back and recites the truth of God's promises so he can restore the courage he once had. Do you see how he does this? He says Lord, you will not forsake me. You have promised to be near me and bring healing when I am hurting. David is literally practicing what cognitive scientists have said will help you draw strength from the source. What spiritual practices could help you strengthen your faith today?
“Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun: I saw the tears of the oppressed and they have no comforter; power was on the side of their oppressors and they have no comforter. But better than both is the one who has never been born, who has not seen the evil that is done under the sun. And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Fools fold their hands and ruin themselves. There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. This too is meaningless a miserable business! Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
Ecclesiastes 4:1, 3-10, 12
You were never meant to do life alone. God's divine design is that we would live in community, in close fellowship, with lives connected to each other. We can draw strength from each other as we share our burdens and seek help through our hard times. Solomon says some of the most foolish things you can do is chase after your own selfish gains, compare yourself to others, and ignore the needs of the community around you. Why? Because all of those pursuits are counter to the purposes of God. We were made by God to live for God. The life that serves only itself is sinful and separated from the source of strength. It reveals a darkened heart that is covetous not courageous.
How does this passage hit you? Are you experiencing the strengthening that comes from serving others and finding ways to give love to the world around you? Are you growing deeper and broader in your relationships or are you isolating? God wants you to live a passionate, energetic life of meaning and purpose. One of the ways in which God strengthens us is by giving us purpose. Purpose gets us out of bed and keeps us accountable to connecting with others. What is your divine purpose and how can you lend a helping hand so that you can be strengthened today?
“Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. A spirit of prostitution is in their heart; they do not acknowledge the Lord. Then I will return to my lair until they have borne their guilt and seek my face in their misery they will earnestly seek me.”
Hosea 5:4, 15
Truth tells us we turn to God when we need Him. Help me Jesus is probably the most prayed prayer in the history of the world. God wants those prayers. There is nothing wrong and everything right with calling on the name of the Lord when you are hurting. What does it say though about a relationship if someone only calls you when they need help? Does it make you feel loved or used?
Thankfully God's love does not change for us when we are inattentive to our relationship for us, but his blessings do change. When we ignore God we can very easily find ourselves in places when never thought we would go, with people we never thought we would be around, doing things we never thought we would do. When Hosea says their deeds do not permit them to return to God it is not because God would not welcome them back. It is because sin separates. The enemy loves to use sin to produce large spoonfulls of shame, guilt, and anxiety for us to swallow. God knows the slippery slope of sin and that is one of the reasons He constantly reminds us to be proactive in how we live.
God calls out the spirit of prostitution. What an interesting phrase. At the core, this phrase calls out the desires of our hearts. Are we delighting ourselving in the Lord and desiring intimacy with Him? Or do we desire things of the world? The very things that Solomon calls chasing after the wind. The lusts that brings us temporary enjoyment and no meaningful satisfaction. The empty calories of addiction and sin. What do you desire today? Are your actions strengthening you in the joy of the Lord or separating you because of their sinful nature? Jesus said in John 8. If you remember my teaching and hold on to the truth the truth will set you free.
“The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.”
2 Thessalonians 2:9-10, 13-17
Paul preaches the same truth that was evident in how God taught Joshua to become the man he was made to be. This is the same truth that can help us become the person God made us to be. What is the truth? You have a calling. God chose you to be saved by the work of the Spirit through belief in the truth. God wants you to stand firm and draw all of your strength from Him. He wants you to recite and remember His words meditating on them day and night whether by word, by letter, or by your mouth. He wants you to hold fast to His teachings because His Word, the Word, is exactly what you need to fight another day. His strength will strengthen your heart and give you the courage to be an overcomer.
The truth is you are loved by Jesus Christ himself and God our father. It is by His grace not your gifted ability that you have the strength to be eternally encourage and have good hope so that you can live out the life of impact you are called to live. Why is grace and hope what strengthens us? Grace is what we need to turn the condemnation of Satan into the transformation that comes from the renewing of our minds, the remembering and practicing of God's word. Cognitive scientists have simply restated what the Creator God has done and is doing with each of us. He is molding us and refining us into the image of His Son. In Genesis it was said that we were made in the image of God. Fear and sin try to distort our own image of how we see ourselves. Jesus came to restore our identity and how we see ourselves by His grace and the truth of the gospel.
Jesus gives us hope and it is hope that is at the center of courage. Social scientist Brene Brown will tell you that vulnerability is the key to living courageously. This may sound counterintuitive but it is exactly the core of God's teaching to us. When we are weak, Jesus is strong. We must become less, so that He can become more in us. Where sin increases, grace increases more. When we are open and honest about how we have sinned, Jesus is faithful and just to redeem us from all sin. God promises that we have a hope and a future and hope is what moves our hearts. Hope gets us out of bed. Hope puts a smile on our face and a skip in our step because hope says the best is yet to come. Why do we have eternal encouragement? Because Jesus is the hope of the world and the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is living in us. How do we hold on to that hope? How can we live as bold, strong, courageous followers of Jesus? Practice and find ways to participate. The more you teach others and share your story of transformation the more you will remember who you are and whose you are. So stand firm. Be strengthened by the source of all strength as you spend time with God today. Be ready to share with others the hope you have found in Jesus Christ as He leads you to give hope and become who He made you to be. Strong and courageous.