Posts Tagged: courage in little things
“Courage in Little Bits”
The verse of the day in the YouVersion Bible App is Joshua 1:9. “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.” (New Living Translation)
Joshua needed some courage for sure. Moses had died, and Joshua was to lead the Children of Israel across the Jordan River and into the Promised Land. What a task!
I used to think of Joshua as very courageous. However, now that I’ve actually slowed down and looked at the text, I’m not so sure. God has to tell Joshua (three times in chapter 1 alone) that he is to be strong and courageous (verses 6, 7, and 9). At the end of this chapter, some of the leaders of the tribes also tell Joshua to be strong and courageous. Would a courageous person need to be told so often to be courageous?
Well, maybe we all need encouragement in that regard. I am told that there are approximately 365 commands in the Bible to not be afraid. This sounds like the flip side of the command to be courageous. (I haven’t counted them myself to see if there really are 365 of them. This may be an old preacher’s tale.)
There is a lot that could be said about this command in Joshua 1:9. Here are a few observations.
- Apparently, courage is not a feeling. It is a command, and feelings can’t be commanded. So, a command relates to action.
- A command implies that the one doing the commanding is in a position of authority.
- A command implies that the one receiving the command has only two choices: either to obey the command or not.
- Notice that the command is related to meditating in the Law of the LORD and careful obedience/doing of what God says (vss. 7-8). We might think of courage as relating to military prowess. No, it is not. Courage is instead about obeying God.
- Courage comes in many forms. For Joshua, I don’t doubt that it took courage to refuse to lose his temper when some of the Ephraimites (from his own tribe, no less!) whined that they hadn’t been given enough land (Joshua 17:14-18). Sometimes, putting up with a whiny extended family takes as much courage as conquering a city!
My last observation leads me to an application which is stretching Joshua 1:9. I hope that it isn’t stretching the text too far. Here is my application. It may or may not fit you. I suspect that we need courage even for little things.
To hold your tongue when you would like to use it as a lash, to eat in a healthy manner, to write a blog post when you’re not sure you have anything to say—these and a thousand other small things require us to choose courage every day. Courage is not reserved for soldiers and fire fighters. It is required of us all.
Courage in little bits is the name of the game. That is what our lives consist of mostly.
“COURAGE IN LITTLE THINGS”
“6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success1 wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:6-9)
The posts these days seem to be preoccupied with little things these days. That may be because I often feel little to the point of insignificance. Probably we all, even the most “successful” (whatever that means), feel that way a good bit of the time.
So, I was thinking about courage in little things this morning. I have never thought of myself as being particularly courageous, but maybe I’m ignoring courage in little things. Today, I sent my sponsor the following affirmation:
“Today, by God’s grace, I am living courageously in small things. If big courage is called for, I pray that I will meet the challenge. However, courage in little things will certainly be called for.”
I am not sure what “courage in little things” even means. Maybe that will unfold as the day goes on. Perhaps I will need to be on the lookout for chances to exercise courage.
I do know this much: All muscles—whether physical, emotional, mental or spiritual—are developed with exercise.
In the Scripture that led off this post, Joshua is being told that he is to lead the children of Israel into the promised land, a huge task. Worse yet, the former CEO of the company was Moses. How would you like to follow that act?! Did you notice that, in that brief quote, Joshua was repeatedly told to be courageous? Why so much repetition? I suspect there are two possible explanations for God saying the same thing over and over. Either God was being very emphatic, or Joshua wasn’t listening real well. Perhaps both are true.
When I was growing up on the farm, I kept waiting to develop big, bulging, impressive muscles in my arms. It never happened. No matter how much I worked, my muscles never impressed me. I threw bales of hay up on the wagon by adrenaline and determination, more than by muscles.
But the fact is that I did develop some muscles, even though it might not seem so. Little by little, I was firming up my muscles.
I’ve never felt very courageous. Perhaps I don’t need to feel courageous at all. But if I exercise in little ways, I am where I need to be, and doing what I need to do.
One final thought: Joshua 1:6 comes right after Joshua 1:5. It’s strange how that works! And in Joshua 1:5, God promises that he will be with Joshua, just as God was with Moses. Our dog is much more brave when my wife and/or I are with her. Being courageous with the God of the universe is a whole lot easier than being courageous without God.
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
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