Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. – Joshua 1:9
There must have been a time when we had high hopes for a promising life—before those hopes were dashed. But then, through the crazy and chaotic circumstances of growing up, we learned to settle for a life that was far less than what we had once hoped for. We may have come to the conclusion that a sane, good life is reserved for people better or stronger than ourselves.
God led the nation of Israel out of bondage in Egypt, through the wilderness, and to the edge of the Promised Land. But as they stood on the border, looking into the fruitful and prosperous land of Canaan, they lacked the faith and courage to go in. Joshua was one of the few who had the faith to enter, but because of the others, he was held back. Forty years later the chance came again. Just before he entered the land, the Lord told him, “Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).
There is a Promised Land for each one of us. Jeremiah tells us, “For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the LORD.’ They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11). We need to be courageous. We need to believe that there can be good things in life for us. We, too, can be encouraged that regardless of the failures in our families and our past, we can start again. We can find our way out of the chaos of the wilderness, into the Promised Land of healthy living.
We may not succeed by the world’s standards, but we can by God’s standards, and His opinion lasts forever.
– Steve Arterburn
Whatever there be of progress in life comes not through adaptation but through daring. – Henry Miller
Faith isn’t the ability to believe long and far into the misty future. It’s simply taking God at His Word and taking the next step. – Joni Erickson Tada
