Dear Lord; Good morning Father. For the last day or so Lord, I’ve had a Bible verse on my heart. It’s always been one of my favorites, but I’m feeling like I should be paying particular attention to it at the moment; That somehow it’s important that I keep it at the front of my mind. The verse is from the Book of Joshua :
“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.” – Joshua 1:9 (NIV)
Now, I’ll admit to having been discouraged about a number of things as of late so maybe that’s the key here, but I just feel there’s more to it than that. I went back this morning and reread Joshua 1 in it’s entirety to put the verse in full context, and found another passage that set off bells in my head as well :
“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.” – Joshua 1:7 (NIV)
This immediately clicked with a blog posting I read last night on the website “A Mile in My Schu’s” about how we can get “Off Course” from our path to You. I always find it fascinating how when You need to get a point across to me, I seem to see it repeated and led to in so many places.
Ok Father, I get that this verse is important for me at the moment. It’s certainly a positive message, and one I try to remember when my life heads in uncertain directions. However I still feel there’s more behind Your insistence to me to focus on this missive than I’m seeing right now.
For example, these verses both enforce the command to “Be strong and courageous”… Hmmm, have I been that lately? If I’m honest with myself Lord, probably not so much as I should be. There’s so much to contemplate and pray about here…
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your constant Presence and Guidance in my life. Please give me the clarity and focus to serve Your Will as You intend me to, and to see through my own flaws so I can focus on Your Glory. Amen.
~Phather Phil
Hi, I’m Phil Malmstrom, a.k.a. Phather Phil. I’m self-employed, father of two wonderful young men, an ordained minister who delights in spreading Jesus’ Message of Hope and Love, a science-fiction junkie, an aspiring photographer and above all that one of God’s Children who rejoices in His Blessings each day. 
The key is found in verse 7. We must cling to God and not turn to the right or left. He truly must be our center. God does command us to be strong and courageous in ourselves, but in Him. Love that I’m not alone!
Thank you Lisa, I tend to agree that’s the key of His Message here. Knowing He’s always paving the way for us is an amazing comfort to be sure!
Have a Blessed Day!
Love how you dig deeper into the verses and keep them ever before you in prayer. Good reminder here, Phil. Thanks
Thank you Jean. 🙂
Have a Blessed Day!
Great post Phil, and I love the way you went back to further study it. So many times God lays something on our heart and we leave it at that instead of digging deeper. Thank you for this. Blessings!
Sometimes Jenifer, it’s bluntly obvious what He’s telling me and other times… not so much. Just because my limited understanding doesn’t grasp it at the moment though, doesn’t make it any less important so I try to search for meaning where I can.
Thank you, and Have a Blessed Day!
LOVE LOVE LOVE that verse! It is one of my favorites! Only He can make me strong and courageous because I am neither one in my own nature!
I do too Allison… I’ve put it in front of me everywhere I can the last couple of days to remind me that He has a plan, and that I need to be open to it when it comes.
Thank you and have a Blessed Day!
I can so relate to this…”I always find it fascinating how when You need to get a point across to me, I seem to see it repeated and led to in so many places.” Boy, isn’t that the truth. Great post. I think the key is to simply stay open and willing to learn whatever God is trying to teach us.
I agree completely Eileen. Sometimes staying open to hearing His Call is one of the hardest things to do, but is also the most important.
Have a Blessed Day!
We all at times get of the course in which we are walking, and though it does takes courage to stay on the course. I truly believe when God gives us a bible verse and it stays with us it is there for a reason. You may not know at that very moment what the reason but sometimes He does reveal to us the reason. As you know the story of Joshua he had allot of people that was counting on him to do a task and the people wanted to do what they thought was best for them. Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.”Had they not consecrate themselves they would not of been able to see the amazing things that the Lord was about to do. It took courage on Joshua’s part to take the people through the land but his courage did not come from himself it came from what he knew about His Lord. And same for you my friend it’s not your strength but God’s strength in you.
Thank you Desiray. I take my strength and direction from Him as much as possible.
Have a Blessed Day!
“Turning from the right or the left,”- we can only be strong and courageous if we keep our eyes straight ahead looking up to Jesus. There are distractions all around us that keep us from being strong and courageous. I can so relate to that! The Bible instructs this so many times… God’s people should be strong and courageous because we have Him on our side!
Thank you Kelli. It’s always more difficult when things around us seem to be in chaos and the world is filled with distractions, but those are also the times we need to listen the closest to His Word, and stay focused on the path.
Have a Blessed Day!