SUCK IT UP AND JUMP, ALREADY – Nov. 26th

“No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous…(7) only be strong and courageous…(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.” Josh. 1:5-9

I have thought that it must have been much easier to live by faith back in the day when they just heard God’s audible voice. If I just audibly heard God speak to me, then I am sure that I would have so much more confidence to step out in faith. They had it so much better.

If that were the case, then why did God have to encourage Joshua to be strong and courageous? Joshua was no coward. He was a soldier, a warrior, who had been fighting for over forty years. God needed to encourage Joshua because he knew that Joshua was going to have to take the promise land based on faith, the same kind of faith that we interact with God on today.

Faith requires a leap and it always has.  We so often think of faith as a noun; “If you have faith…”. That is a noun. However, we cannot see what we have until it becomes an action.

Joshua was going to come up against powerful people in walled cities. It was going to be faith – faith in God’s promise – that would allow the word, “Charge”, to escape his mouth.  The action of moving forward was a demonstration of Joshua’s faith and that takes strength and courage. Strength and courage is always needed when we decide to leap based on faith.

We have a chance to experience faith every day.  James tells us in James 2:18, “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” Leaping (faith) is shown in our works, which shows our faith.  It is wonderfully circular. When we leap, we move from observer to participant.  Do not be fooled. That requires courage. The Bible takes that for granted; just look at all of the passage in the Bible telling us not to fear. Faith takes strength and courage.

There are many folks who live their every days lives without much need of courage…could it be that they are mere observers?  When was the last time that you needed courage? So often, we seek the safe, we want guarantees; the result is that we never see true faith.  It is no wonder that we can feel distant from God.

Faith is just theory when it is not in action.  The reality is that you will never truly experience God on a personal level until you participate.  There are a lot of God observers but God has a relationship only with those who are willing to participate and that takes courage to leap. Therefore, be strong and courageous, do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go…now, jump!

.

PRAYER: Lord, I need the strength and courage that only can come from you.  I know that I am a man of little faith.  That is not what I want to remain as. Father, thank you for the gift of my faith.  I am ready to participate; I am ready to leap.  I am ready to experience all that you have for me and have prepared for me to do.    Amen