Be Strong

Wouldn’t it be nice if you had been given a promise that everything you did would turn out successfully? I am willing to bet that it would change the way you live your everyday life. You would probably be willing to try more things and take a few more chances.
I want to show you a verse this morning where a promise like that was given to a guy in the Bible. His name was Joshua. In the book of Joshua we read that the Lord spoke to Joshua and said “No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them” Joshua 1:5-6 NLT. WOW, can you imagine having God come to you and saying, “I have a job for you to do, and I promise no one will be against you, I will be with you and you will complete the job. So, be strong and courageous”? Don’t you wish you were Joshua? Don’t you wish that God had said those things to you? Oh wait! I think he did. Do you remember some of the last words that Jesus said before he returned to heaven, “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age”? Or how about the words from Ephesians that tell us, “The same mighty power of the Spirit that raised Jesus from the grave lives in us”?
As Christ followers we have every reason to “be strong and courageous.” We are not working or living in our own strength, we have the power and the person of the Holy Spirit indwelling and leading us in everything we do. It is that power and presence that makes us strong and courageous. Maybe you are reading this thinking, “That’s great, P.T., but I don’t feel very strong.” God knows that as well, and he promises that when we are weak, he will step in and be our strength.
Let me encourage you, “Be strong and courageous,” not in your own strength but by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives in you. Rest in His power as you go through your day. I bet you will finish your day with a completely different perspective than if you try to live your day on your own.

-Pastor Tim