I’ve been feeling anything but strong and courageous, lately. In fact, I’ve been down and depressed. I know it’s primary because of my thyroid issues but then there are other things, too. That’s when I picked up a book on Joshua. Do you know how many times God told Joshua to be strong and courageous? I haven’t counted yet, but it was a lot.
That got me to thinking…..why did God have to repeat himself to Joshua so many times? Maybe Joshua was not the great warrior from the get go. He did have great faith in God. He saw the giants in the land, but he also knew his God was mightier. And he knew God had made a promise and he was going to trust him for it. God told him to posses the land. How? It must have seemed like an impossible task. He had so many enemies to fight. Quite a daunting situation. But God assured him with these words:
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you where ever you go.” Joshua 1:9
I remembered when I was expecting my 3rd baby. I had two older children who were 5 and 6 years old. They ran around like little tornadoes and I wondered how in the world I would ever be able to handle another one??? Finally the day came for my baby to be delivered. I was terrified that it was more than I could handle. It was a boy. I named him Joshua. Imagine that.
I found out something. Taking care of a 3rd baby is no big deal. In fact, it was very easy. I had been imagining the next two years as a single day. All I could think about was all the diapers, all the laundry, all the feedings, all the late nights, all the crying….But you know what? It didn’t all hit me at once. It was one day at a time and that I could manage.
The biblical Joshua must have felt inadequate for the job, because God kept assuring him. I’m sure he wondered how he could conquer anything! I’ll tell you how he did it…. One day at a time. One enemy at a time. One victory at a time. One task at a time.
Like Joshua, we have things to conquer: Meals to cook, mountains of laundry to wash, tears to dry, encouragement to give…and a whole host of things no one knows about….unless you don’t do them. Then it becomes evident to all that something didn’t get done…
And these little seemingly insignificant things matter. They matter the most. Like the post, A Simple Gesture, sometimes it’s the smallest things that make the biggest difference in this life.
So, I’m going to be looking a little closer into the life of Joshua and see how he handled problems and disappointments and stress…..I think there are some really good lessons to be learned. Then maybe I’ll have brighter outlook than I’ve had lately…I’m going to take these words for myself…Be strong and Courageous and believe God will give me what I need to make it through….to posses the promised land.
So tell me, how do you get yourself back on track when you get down?
