"Home is the nicest word there is." ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder
In love with Jesus. Wife to my best friend & man I love more than life. Mama to 4 amazing God given blessings. Proud Homemaker & Homeschooler. Living life with it's ups and downs and blogging about it!

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Courage for your task

Joshua 1
The LORD Commands Joshua

1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: 2 "Moses my servant is dead. 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 Great Sea [a] on the west. 5 No one will be able to stand up 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 forefathers 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 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; 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 terrified; 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 supplies 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.' "

12 But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, 13 "Remember the command that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: 'The LORD your God is giving you rest and has granted you this land.' 14 Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, fully armed, must cross over ahead of your brothers. You are to help your brothers 15 until the LORD gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise."
16 Then they answered Joshua, "Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you as he was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous!"

*I have been struggling with various things lately. A lot of it is just getting ready for this little one and the anxiety that comes with having a new baby and all that it involves. Maybe it is just me but I put so much thought into "How is this decision going to affect the kids?" "How do I teach them to have certain values and morals?" "How do I live my life to model what I know they need to be seeing in me?"

Needless to say, it is overwhelming to think on these things constantly. But, that is being a parent. And, there is no task that I would rather be entrusted with!

I found this scripture in my PawPaw Treat's list of how to use your bible. It is listed under "When you need courage for your task". And, I have needed a hefty dose of courage for my tasks lately so, I started reading this last night and shared it with Charlie. The one thing that stood out the greatest in this passage was this, "BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS" and in verse 7, it is stressed like this, " BE STRONG AND VERY COURAGEOUS". I love the VERY right there, it just really stresses how courageous we are supposed to be!

This is just a journaling kind of entry. Just my thoughts lately. Thanks for reading.

2 comments:

Denise said...

Bless you sweetie.

In Pursuit of His Call said...

Thanks for this post! I was very encouraged by it.

Thanks for your transparency and all the different things you think about. They are important things, but when you don't know the answers it sure can cause a lot of anxiety. That is why I am so thankful that you pointed out verse 7 and how we are to be VERY courageous, especially in trusting the Lord! The cool thing about this passage is the promise that "the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

If we don't find Him in the small things, how will we ever find Him in the big ones? ~Elisabeth Elliot