This is my command--be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9 NLT)

That’s quite a command- “Be strong and courageous.”  It is what God said to Joshua as he was about to lead the children of Israel into the promised land, and it’s just as relevant to our own lives today.  Whether we are facing a physical danger or the threat of being rejected by those around us, it takes courage to go ahead and do the right thing. 

Courage is the ability to do what you need to do, despite your fears. (excerpt from Feed The Seed & Meet The Need pt.1, by Dr. Chester C. Pipkin)

In our efforts to operate in courage, however, there’s one major pitfall that we must avoid: we can’t believe the lie that as soon as we feel fear, we are disqualified from being brave.  On the contrary, if there’s no threat worth fearing, why would it take courage to face it?  Rather it is in the midst of the fear that courage comes to bear and gives us the strength to push on.

So how do we get the courage we need to face all that life throws at us?  The answer is in the last part of that same scripture we started with… We get it from the LORD our God, who is with us wherever we go.  Since He is the all-powerful God and He’s on our side, urging us toward doing right, we can count on Him to equip us even when it feels scary.  When we remember that, we really can be courageous in the face of anything!