Courageous

Courageous

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Deuteronomy 31:6

God has given me this verse twice through other messengers. The first time was through my precious friend Kendra who received it in her prayer time as encouragement for me during the videotaping of Jesus Lives. We eat lunch quite frequently together, and she said God gave her a word for me. The second time was through a teaching session from Pat Layton, a worker in post-abortion recovery. I told you in the “Hope in Hopeless Times” devotion that Pat handed out scissors with a Scripture on it.

Moses had delivered these words to all of Israel. Moses was 120 years old. After leading Israel for years, getting them out of slavery in Egypt, taking them through the desert wanderings, and now standing outside the Promised Land, he was no longer able to lead them. He was delivering God’s promise to them that they were not dependent on Moses but dependent on God. He told them not to be afraid of the enemy on their territory. They would take the land from the enemy. Moses was telling them to be strong and courageous. God was going to be with them in these battles. He was not going to abandon them now. He had directed them to take this land, and He would be right there with them. I believe this was a personal word to me.

For most of my life, I have struggled with fear. When I was a child, I was afraid of the dark. When I fell asleep at night, I pulled the covers up to my neck and covered my neck for fear of vampires in the night. After sleeping for 30 years this way, I finally realized why I slept this way. (Can you believe that it took me 30 years to figure that out?)

As an adult, I no longer fear the dark, but I have fear occasionally. It is a struggle for me to not be afraid of being aggressive for the Kingdom, aggressive in the publishing and videotaping, and courageously delivering the word God has given me. Every time before I speak or I write, I’m afraid of messing up. I draw on the courage of my God. When He fills me with His courage, I feel the most alive that I have ever felt. Ambrose Redmoon said, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.” Courage is being willing to face danger. Courage is being willing to do what you believe is right even when you don’t know if things will end in your favor.

Just like the Israelites, if you and I are going to take our individual Promised Lands, then we have to fight the enemy who has been controlling the territory. Just as Joshua and the Israelites took their Promised Land with their swords, so do we. We take our Promised Lands with the Sword of the Spirit. We take them with the Word of God. We must be rooted in God’s Word. Our courage must be rooted in Scripture…Not blind trust, but knowing trust… Knowing why we can place our courage in Him and release our fears to Him. Oh, beloved, let’s be willing to face any danger, any fear and trust our God with the outcome.

Pray with me: Almighty God, You go with us. You will never leave us nor forsake us. You lead us into battle against the enemy. Lord, make us strong. We don’t want to be weak women. We want to be strong and mighty in You. We don’t want to sway with the blowing of the wind or a change of our circumstances. We want a character that is steady and true. Give us courage. Help us to see that what You have in store for us is so much more important than our fear. Help us to reject fear and to choose to walk in courage. Lord, help us to be rooted in Your Word. Just like Joshua had his physical sword, we need our spiritual sword. We will take our Promised Lands if we have Your Word written into our hearts and our entire being. Make us lovers of Your Word. May we cherish it more than our daily bread. It’s in the Name above all names, in Jesus’ Name, Yeshua’s Name, we pray. Amen.

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