Be Strong and Courageous in the Lord

Beloved, throughout the Bible, believers or the saints are urged to be strong and courageous in the Lord. Before his death Moses said to all the children of Israel, “BE STRONG AND OF GOOD COURAGE, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes WITH YOU. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” Then Moses called JOSHUA and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “BE STRONG AND OF GOOD COURAGE, for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; DO NOT FEAR NOR BE DISMAYED.” (Deuteronomy 31:6‭-‬8 NKJV). Then when the Lord God Almighty Himself also spoke to JOSHUA after the death of Moses, He said, "No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; AS I WAS WITH MOSES, SO I WILL BE WITH YOU. I will not leave you nor forsake you. BE STRONG AND OF GOOD COURAGE, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. ONLY BE STRONG AND VERY COURAGEOUS, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 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 1:5‭-‬9 NKJV).

Now, in this short passage quoted above, notice how many times God Himself told Joshua to BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS, and to be VERY COURAGEOUS. It just shows how important it is to God that His children and servants are strong and courageous. In this passage also, God tells Joshua why he must be strong and courageous. One of the reasons is that he was to divide as an inheritance the promised land among the children of Israel. God also promised Joshua that no man shall be able to stand before him all the days of his life, because God would be with him as He was with Moses, and would never leave nor forsake him. God knew that it would take strength and courage for Joshua (and all believers for that matter) to lay hold on the promises from God. Joshua’s strength and courage was to be drawn from the Lord, from knowing and being conscious that He the Lord God almighty was with him, just as He was with Moses, and would never leave nor forsake him. Another reason Joshua was admonished to be strong and courageous is that it takes strength and courage to observe to do according to all the law (or the Word of God) which Moses commanded, and to prosper as a result and have good success. It takes strength and courage to be a DOER of the Word of God, and not just a hearer. And again, this strength and courage comes from the Lord, from knowing and being conscious that the Lord is with you. Therefore God made sure to point out to Joshua that He would be with him, AS HE WAS WITH MOSES, and would never leave nor forsake him. Joshua knew how God was with Moses; he knew the great signs and wonders God performed through the hands of Moses. And so God was basically reminding Joshua that Moses prospered and was successful in all He did, because He the Lord was with him. Moses delivered the children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt because the Lord was with him; Moses divided the Red sea for the children of Israel to pass through it on dry land because the Lord was with him; Moses fed the children of Israel with manna from Heaven because the Lord was with him; Moses struck the rock with his rod for water to come out and quench the thirst of the children of Israel and their livestock because the Lord was with him; Moses received quail (meat) for all the children of Israel to eat in the wilderness because the Lord was with him. And so when God said to Joshua that “As I was with Moses, so will I be with you,” Joshua could rest assured, he could call to remembrance how God was with Moses, and use it as a basis to be strong and courageous.

Beloved, to be strong and courageous in the Lord today, we also have to remember how God was with our Lord Jesus Christ, and with all the saints who were before us, and how He kept His promises to them and did mighty signs and wonders among them. In the Old Testament, the prophet Habakkuk, calling to remembrance the marvelous works of God, prayed, "Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy." (Habakkuk 3:2 NIV). In the New Testament, Peter also, while preaching to Cornelius’ household, called to remembrance “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, FOR GOD WAS WITH Him.” (Acts 10:38 NKJV). We can be strong and courageous and accomplish great and marvelous deeds when we believe and are conscious of the truth that the Lord our God is with us, just as He was with Jesus of Nazareth, and just as He was with the early disciples, and that He will keep His promises to us, just as He kept His promises to them; for the Lord Himself has said, “lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.” (see Matthew 28:20 NKJV). He has also said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (see Hebrews 13:5). “So we may boldly say: “The Lord  is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6 NKJV). Thus, our level of consciousness about the Lord’s presence with us at all times will make all the difference as to whether we will be afraid and dismayed, or strong and courageous. Indeed the Lord our God is with us always, He will never leave nor forsake us; and He will repeat His awesome deeds in our day, for He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hallelujah! “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those  who  have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:28‭-‬31 NKJV). Praise be to God!


Now, the Bible records how strong and courageous the young man David was when he faced the giant Philistine of Gath, Goliath, and defeated him. Why was David so strong and courageous, one may ask? It's because David knew, believed, and was conscious that the Lord God Almighty was with him, and that the Lord would never leave nor forsake him. Thus while approaching Goliath, David said to him, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I COME TO YOU IN THE NAME OF THE LORD OF HOSTS, THE GOD OF THE ARMIES OF ISRAEL, whom you have defied. This day THE LORD WILL DELIVER YOU INTO MY HAND, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, THAT ALL THE EARTH MAY KNOW THAT THERE IS A GOD IN ISRAEL. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for THE BATTLE IS THE LORD’S, and He will give you into our hands.” (I Samuel 17:45‭-‬47 NKJV). Clearly, the source of David’s strength and courage (as revealed in this passage) was the Lord, whom he knew was always present with him and would never leave nor forsake him. David said, “THE BATTLE IS THE LORD’S,” and beloved I don’t know what battle you are facing today, but if you would believe with David that THE BATTLE IS THE LORD’S, then I can assure you that THE VICTORY IS YOURS. Glory to God!

In First Samuel chapter 30, there is another record of a terrible situation David faced and how once again he triumphed over the situation in the strength of the Lord. David and his men came to Ziklag, where they had left their wives and children, only to find out that the Amalekites had invaded the South and Ziklag, attacked Ziklag and burned it with fire, and had taken captive the women and everyone who was there, from small to great; they did not kill anyone, but carried them away and went their way. So here David and his men stood in the wreckage of the city burned with fire, and their wives, their sons and daughters taken captive; then David and the people who were with him lifted their voices and wept, until they had no more power to weep. (see 1 Samuel 30:1-4). What a tragic sight this was! The Bible says, “Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters...” (see 1 Samuel 30:6 NKJV). And so David’s condition was made worse by his own people threatening to kill him, to stone him. But here is the point I want us to focus on: the Bible says that in the midst of all this, “David STRENGTHENED HIMSELF IN THE LORD HIS GOD.” (see 1 Samuel 30:6 NKJV). Another translation (the NIV) says, “But David FOUND STRENGTH in the Lord his God.” Hallelujah! Beloved, where do you look for strength in times of trouble? I hope that your strength is in the Lord your God. David knew the source of his strength was outside of his flesh; he knew that the source of his strength was God — and so he relied on God, strengthening himself in the Lord his God. Thus, in the Psalms David writes, "THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH AND MY SHIELD; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him." (Psalms 28:7 NKJV). Every believer has to have the same consciousness and confidence David had, that the Lord is our strength. Our hearts must trust in the Lord, and we will be helped and filled with joy to sing to Him songs of praise in every situation. David, armed with the Lord as his strength, pursued the Amalekites, attacked them, and recovered all that they had carried away, and David rescued his two wives. (see 1 Samuel 30:18). “And nothing of theirs was lacking, either small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything which they had taken from them; David recovered all.” (1 Samuel 30:19 NKJV). Glory to God!

When we face battles in our own lives and are at our weakest and are unable to fight in our own strength, we must “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might” (Ephesians 6:10). The Bible says that God gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. (see Isaiah 40:29). Again, “the God of Israel gives POWER and STRENGTH to His people. Praise be to God!” (see Psalm 68:35 NIV). Indeed, God's grace is sufficient for us in every situation, and His strength is made perfect in weakness. (see 2 Corinthians 12:9). David’s victory presents us a classic example of God’s strength made perfect in weakness. Paul said, "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, THEN I AM STRONG." (II Corinthians 12:10 NKJV). Truly, when you are conscious that the Lord is your strength, then you will always be strong and courageous regardless of your circumstances. Hence, Paul again said, “I CAN DO ALL THINGS through CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME.” (Philippians 4:13). Paul was conscious of Christ in him, Christ was his strength. Beloved in Christ, we must also be conscious that Christ who is the wisdom of God and the power of God dwells in us and strengthens us, and so we can do all things through Him. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (see Romans 8:28). Whatever situation you’re in today, rest assured that all things will work together for your good. Therefore, “Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.” (Psalm 31:24 NIV). “Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." (see 2 Timothy 2:1 NIV). For “If God is for us, who can be against us?" (see Romans 8:31). Nobody! Truly, in all things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. (see Romans 8:37). We need to have an overcomer's attitude or a victory mentality whenever we encounter trials or adverse circumstances. We need to understand that it is only by faith in Jesus' finished work that we can keep our hearts from being troubled. Paul, walking in faith, said, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” (see Philippians 4:11). Then he added, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned THE SECRET OF BEING CONTENT  in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” (Philippians 4:12 NIV). And that secret is to set your mind on things above, set your mind on Jesus Christ who is your strength and your life, and know that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. (see Philippians 4:13, with Colossians 3:2-4). Glory to God! Remain blessed.