Be Strong and Courageous

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged...For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9, NIV)

How comforting it is to know that God will be with us wherever we go. How comforting it is when He tells us not to be terrified or discouraged. God gives us big dreams and huge visions that we know we are not capable of attaining on our own. His sole purpose for doing that is so that we and others may know Him and His full glory.

I made a decision on Sunday evening that I had spent long enough in the wilderness and that I no longer wanted to live in a world of heavy oppression. Our pastor has been teaching about healing and I have to say that when it comes to healing, I usually think of physical healing not spiritual healing. I came across the story of the woman with the issue of blood who had enough faith to touch the hem of Jesus' garment. She knew that if she touched it, she would be healed. Jesus' response to her answered a prayer that I had been praying for so long. He told the woman, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." (Luke 8:48, NIV) In order for us to be who God created us to be and in order for us to walk in the visions He has given us, we must take our mustard seed of faith and reach out to Him. Success, prosperity, peace and the promises of God, as well as God Himself will only come through faith. The Apostle of Faith, Smith Wigglesworth said, "Faith is an action." We must follow God in faith, by believing Him and His promises.

Faith can be a hard thing to fathom when we have no idea where following Jesus will lead. We have to decide how badly we want to please Him and if that means more than anything in the world, then we must be strong and courageous. We are not given visions for a "someday" down the road. We are given visions in order to help others right where we are. I have a wonderful friend who helped me through a deep, dark depression many years ago. I told her that I owed her so much for helping me through. Her response was that I did not owe her anything, but that I was to turn around and help the next woman with her dreams and struggles. This is my assignment, to encourage and edify women God brings into my life and I am to use the gifts, abilities and power He provides to help them. Just as He helped Moses, He is willing to help me spread the Good News through love and grace.

I am so grateful that I am not my own and that He has chosen me to be a voice for Him. I pray that you will ask God what He wants you to do and that you will trust Him to show you His way. Be strong and courageous! The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.