Oregon Ministry Network

Be strong and courageous! by Dwaine Richards

Be strong and courageous! This phrase is mentioned four times in the first chapter of Joshua. God tells Joshua three times, in no uncertain terms, to “be strong and courageous.” I wish God was always this clear to me when telling me how I should act. It would have saved me a lot of trouble in middle school!

Should it be assumed that Joshua was feeling weak and timid? And that God was telling him to be the opposite? Perhaps overwhelmed by the position he found himself in… from aide to leader? Perhaps he knew what to do, but was not very confident. Maybe he was confident, just unsure how to proceed, and God was encouraging him that he was acting correctly. Either way, it was something Joshua needed to hear for two important reasons.

First, it was something Joshua needed to hear for himself. What if he was terrified and discouraged? Then Joshua needed this word! What if he was confident but unsure about how to proceed? Then he still needed direction from the best course-setter ever!

What did God tell him?

v6 Be strong and courageous because…

v7 Be strong and courageous, here’s how…

v8 Be strong and courageous, avoid or don’t do this…

God was giving Joshua, an inexperienced leader, a plan on how to lead: not so much where to go, but how to be a leader, although where to go was included. Specifically, God was telling Joshua how to lead these particular people. Look at verse seven. This is the most important part because God tells Joshua how to be a good leader and remain a good leader, how to continue making wise decisions, and how to continue being successful.

Beginning in verse ten, Joshua puts God’s plan into action. I wonder if he had to fake it? There is an old adage, “fake it ‘til you make it.” There is a kernel of truth here. In my experience, true confidence is something you have to grow into. When a leader knows what to do but lacks confidence, sometimes he needs to portray confidence so others will have confidence in him. However, if a leader doesn’t know what he’s doing…  no amount of faking it will save him! Joshua had the instructions God had given him, and he did what God had commanded him to do (even if he had to fake it). He was strong and courageous in giving the people their instructions, and they responded to him! They did what he asked them to do. I like their response, “Whatever you have commanded us we will do… only be strong and courageous!”

That leads us perfectly into the second important reason Joshua needed to hear this. God told Joshua to be strong and courageous because the people needed him to be exactly that! They needed a strong and courageous leader, that’s why their response was so great! The fourth and final time we hear “be strong and courageous,” was from the people! It was precisely what God had told Joshua to be! God knows His people, He knows what they need in a leader; He also knows His leaders, and what they need to hear in order to move and lead His people.

Some might think that this is the will of God for every leader all the time. That we all are to be strong and courageous, and if we are strong and courageous God will bless us and people will respond to us. A word of caution: it’s not that we aren’t to be strong and courageous, but if that’s all you got from this, then you missed the point. God told Joshua to be strong and courageous, and he might be telling you the same thing through this passage as well… 

This isn’t intended to be motivation for leaders to run around thoughtlessly being all “strong and courageous,” but instead it is intended to be motivation for a leader to hear from God, and then be what God tells him to be, even if he finds it outside his comfort zone. A leader may find that God asks him to be strong and courageous for a time, and then to be humble and meek for another period, or encouraging and hopeful for yet a different season.

The people needed Joshua to be strong and courageous. It doesn’t say what his personality was like before, but he was obedient. You can be too, no more excuses… “It’s not my personality,” “It’s not my style.” The people we lead need leaders who hear from God. They need leaders who hear from God about what they need and are willing to meet that need as leaders.

God make us those leaders!