Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Season 2, Episode 39
For Thursday, September 24, 2015
“Be Strong and Courageous through God’s Presence”
Previous Episodes
Subscription Links
Episode Transcript:
Welcome to The New You, where we focus on maintaining and accentuating the new that Christ has created in you. I’m Robert Hatfield, and here is today’s scripture:
You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).
Do you want to find strength and courage to drive away your feeling of inadequacy and fear? You can find that courage in God. His promises drive our fears away, and His word sets us up to live a successful, prosperous life for Him. Today, let’s return to that which God told Joshua in Joshua chapter one, where we will find one more secret to find strength and courage.
God’s presence drives the fear away.
Notice what God said to Joshua in Joshua 1:9:
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.
God specifically says, “Do not be afraid.” The word afraid means terrified. The ESV translates it, “frightened.” Further, Joshua was not to be dismayed. The word means shattered or broken down. God is telling Joshua not to feel afraid or defeated. Joshua’s response might be, “How do I not feel that way?”. Here’s how: “the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
That’s it: God’s presence takes away the fear. That same promise is made to New Testament Christians. John writes: “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Jesus promises, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Mat. 28:20).
Joshua had no need to feel overwhelmed as long as he was in God’s presence. God demonstrated (through the words He used) that He understood Joshua’s concerns. Then, God assured Joshua that He wasn’t going anywhere. If Joshua lost God’s presence, it would be because Joshua moved.
Let’s wrap it up: Are you in God’s presence? I’m talking about the abiding presence of God that is the state of fellowship with Him. Those who follow and obey God have the assurance that “God abides in [them], and [they abide] in God” (1 John 4:15). Find the courage and the strength that are only available in God.
Memory Verse: Do you ever feel broken? Do you sometimes feel frightened? This is the perfect verse for you to think of when you feel that way. God assured Joshua that He was always with him. God assures us that He is always with us.
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:9).
Thanks for listening to The New You. This podcast is brought to you by The Light Network. Visit us online at thelightnetwork.tv. Please subscribe to The New You in iTunes or in your favorite podcast app to automatically receive each new episode.
The courage that God gives to Joshua encourages us to be strong. The problem is, neither you nor I can know that strength. That is, I can’t know it alone. Tomorrow, we’ll focus on the true Source of our strength on The New You.
