by Kimberly Farmer

Be Strong and Courageous. No, Really.

There is SO MUCH study material in the verses of Scripture I have typed below, that I cannot even begin to do them justice in this post. So I won’t try. Instead, I invite you to read these powerful verses for yourself and allow God’s words to penetrate your own heart. At the end, is a video of a song by Paul Wilbur I would like to share with you.
Check out the words Moses spoke to all of Israel and directly to Joshua…
from Deuteronomy 31:1-8
1 Then Moses went out and spoke these words to all Israel: 2 “I am now a hundred and twenty years old and I am no longer able to lead you. The Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not cross the Jordan.’ 3 The Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the Lord said. 4 And the Lord will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land. 5 The Lord will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. 8 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Now check out these words the Lord spoke directly to Joshua following Moses’ death…
from Joshua 1:1-11

2 Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.

5 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. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. 7 “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. 8 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. 9 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.” 

10 So Joshua ordered the officers of the people: 11 “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your provisions ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.’”

You can read another account with many similarities in 1 Chronicles 28 about David and Solomon.

This is a video of the song “The Shout of El-Shaddai”
by Messianic praise and worship musician Paul Wilbur.
(I have owned two of his CDs, and I love his music.)
“El-Shaddai” is one of the Hebrew names of God, and it means “God Almighty”

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One comment

  • Faith March 29, 2011  

    Kimberly…..this is great! and guess what…am reading the Chronological Bible in One Year BIble that my hubby bought me for xmas..my youngest daughter has one too…and we were reading last evening…I was 2 nites behind and the portion I was reading last night was this very section from Deuteronomy!!!! Hm….I guess maybe I need to ponder on these Scriptures a bit…maybe God is trying to tell me something! Have a great week…i'm always blessed when I come over here to visit 🙂