Orig. 10/29/02
“The LORD gave this command to Joshua son of Nun: ‘Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them on oath, and I myself will be with you.’” Deuteronomy 31:23
I have notice a contemporary theme among high school lettermen.
When I was a high school varsity athlete we would earn our varsity letter, sew on the appropriate representing patch representing our sport and that was it. Today’s teen athletes often add what I call their badge or call letters, which I confess I wish I would have thought of. Each jacket might have a unique name, nickname, a quote, or Scripture reference.
One young man in our last youth group was a pitcher on his baseball team and because he knew everything one could ever imagine about Major League Baseball players and statistics he proudly wore “Editorial” on the back of his letterman’s jacket.
If Joshua had a letterman’s jacket you can bet his badge of honor was the phrase, “be strong and courageous”. I believe if he were a high school letterman he would have displayed these words proudly. Joshua’s story is one of going from Moses’ Administrative “assistant” (Deuteronomy 1:37) to leader of an entire nation!
"Be strong and courageous."
Great leaders require great courage. Great dreams necessitate great fortitude.
Someone once said that, “Courage is not the absence of fear but the presence of faith.” because faith creates momentum. Faith overcomes inertia. Faith takes the first step. Faith takes the leaps of, uh, faith. Faith is the godly man’s greatest weapon against his fears.
In the midst of “feeling” fear, courage chooses to stand and move forward. When fear tempts a man to dig a fox hole or retreat courage causes him to climb out and charge. When fear calls a man to settle anonymously into the middle of the crowd, courage beckons him to the front of the pack. Courage calls us out of the boat and onto the water when fear comforts us to remain inside (Matthew 14:28). Strength does not always manifest as courage but courage is always seen as strength. To be strong one must possess the courage to stand up, stand in front, stand out, and stand on the promises of God.
