Biblical Courage (Part 2)

Joshua chapter 1—now it came about after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke to Joshua and said, “Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan—you and all this people—to the land which I am giving to them.” And the Lord said, “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you… just as I spoke to Moses. No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life… I will not fail you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous.”

Now notice that—be strong and courageous. And not only that, He said, “Be careful to do according to all the law… do not turn from it to the right or to the left.” You see, when God gives a command, it is straight. There is no confusion in it. When people become confused, it is because they begin to deviate—to the left or to the right.

And then He said, “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night… so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.”

Now think about that—who makes your way prosperous? Yes, ultimately it is the Lord—but He has already given us the principles. If you deviate even a little—to the left or to the right—it will affect your success. It will affect your progress. In that sense, we make our way prosperous under obedience to the Word of the Lord.

And again, He reminds him: “Be strong and courageous. Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Now we began talking about strength, and then we talked about courage. And what were the instructions? Number one: be strong. Number two: be courageous.

Now one of the definitions of courage is what I call stick-to-itiveness. It’s like that toy—you push it down, and it comes right back up again. No matter how many times you try to push it down, it rises again. That is courage.

Courage is not just a feeling—it is the ability to remain standing. It is the ability to rise again and again, no matter how many times you are pushed down.

And not only that—courage is strengthened through the Word of God and careful obedience. These are not secrets. These are principles. God has already given them.

And let me remind you of something: courage can be summoned. When someone is discouraged, you can speak to them—“Be strong.” And when you do that, you are actually calling out strength and courage from within them.

That is the power of words.

In the same way, negative words can also bring people down. Even if they are not discouraged, wrong words can make them discouraged. That is why we must understand—our words carry power. They can either build courage or destroy it.