Here’s the third part in the series, “It’s Your Moment.” So far, we’ve looked at two reasons this time is your moment too:
- Your true identity in part one.
- You find hope in God who changes times in part two.
In this reflection, we will use Deuteronomy 31:6-8 as our foundation,
Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
The Context
To make better sense of our scripture in relation to our theme, you have to understand the whole story behind the above passage.
First, you need to go back to the very beginning of the story, which is found in the book of Genesis. It all started with Abraham. And, you read about that story starting in Genesis 12.
God calls Abraham (formerly known as Abram) out of his family, country, and everything else he knew at that point. Who could do something like that?
Imagine you’re comfortably sleeping at night. Then, you clearly hear God’s voice asking you to leave everything and go to a place God, Himself, will show you.
Does that sound like an easy task anyone can do?
Think of what you’ve built in the place where you’ve lived for like five, twenty, thirty, forty, or fifty years (or longer). This includes your family, possibly your business, your career, your relationships, and more.
Who could leave all that behind to go to an unfamiliar territory, a place you have never been before or cannot even know what it is.
The only thing you do is to trust and obey God!
Ok, does that sound easy?
Not at all. That’s why Abraham will be viewed as the father of the faith. Later on, and when he has two sons, one will become the father of one religion (Islam), and the father of another (Christianity, which has resulted from Judaism).
Those two faith groups that have come out of Abraham represent the two fastest growing religions today with some predictions that in 2060, Islam overturn Christianity to become number one according to World Atlas.
To Abraham, God made a promise that God would make him a father to a nation and a blessing to all the families on earth (see Genesis 12:1-3).
Part of the covenant God made with Abraham was that his offspring would someday be slaves in a foreign land for 400 years. Then, God, through His powerful hands, will set Abraham’s descendants and bring them to the promised land (read more about that in Genesis 15:12-16).
Our Scripture today, from Deuteronomy, is an account of when 4oo years have elapsed. The people of Israel have already been set free from the Egyptians. They are now in wilderness for about forty years.
Joshua is the next person to become the leader of the Israelites after Moses whom God appointed to be the primary liberator of the nation from Pharaoh. Learn more about Moses’ calling in Exodus, chapters 2 and 3.
Finally, you need to keep in mind that the journey from Egypt to the promised land, on foot, was a journey of like 12 days. But, for the Israelites, it took them 40 years.
You may wonder why. Right?
Well, the original plan was that they would get there in just a few days. Here’s what happened.
The first year after they had left Egypt and were now in the desert, Moses sent 12 spies, representing the 12 tribes of Israel, to check Canaan (the promised land) out. Here’s the report they gave to the nation of Israel,
Upon their return from their return from spying, here’s the report they brought,“The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them. Numbers 13:32-33.
Among the spies were Joshua and Caleb. They are the only ones from the group of spies who would say something else in spite of what they had seen in the promised land.
The report the 10 spies brought didn’t please God. As a result, God would say to everyone that all people, 20 years old or older, would not enter the promised land, at the exception of Joshua and Caleb.
Notice that even Moses did not get to enter Canaan, the land God had promised to Abraham and his descendants. Moses was, however, able to see it from a distance (Deuteronomy 34:1-8).
Be Strong and Courageous
That was a long intro for a blog post. Wasn’t it?
I just wanted you to get a sense of what’s happening in the story as described in Deuteronomy 31 before Moses’ death (an account you find in Deuteronomy 34).
Before his death, Moses would introduce Joshua to the people as their next leader. Joshua is the one who leads the Israelites into the promised land.
Out of his generation, there was only one other person who was able to enter the land, and this is Caleb, as discussed above. Everyone else was younger than or was of the same age with Joshua who was about 59 years old at this time.
Doing the Math based on Numbers 13 and 14, Joshua, when he was into the promised as a spy, was about 19 years old, which was also the first year for the Israelites to being in the desert as a free nation.
If you add the next forty years, as they wonder in the wilderness, that gives about 59 years to Joshua.
Moses’ words to Joshua were: “do not fear them,” with the word ‘them’ as a reference to those who are occupying the promised land (see Deuteronomy 31:6).
Remember the report the spies gave after checking the land out? The place is filled with giants, which according to 10 of the 12 spies, going into the promised land is mission impossible.
To be strong and of good courage is a mental choice we have to make every single day when we think of what could be impossible in our eyes too.
Anything that has to do with strength, courage, and fearlessness is a mental activity, which requires daily practice. You build that mental muscle of strength, courage, and fearlessness by practicing it daily.
How To Do It
The question now is: “how do I do it?”
I’m glad that you asked. If you choose to do like the 10 spies who relied on their own strength and power, instead of God’s Word and power, you will often give up.
Rely, however, on God’s word believing that first God will not leave you or forsake you, and second, this territory (or land) is yours, and you will be on your first step building that mental muscle of strength, courage, and fearlessness.
Know that God is with you and God goes before you no matter what direction you take in life. If it’s not the right one, God will show it to you. Just, trust God and obey to what God asks of you through Scripture or God’s revealed word.
The chapter or season you’re starting in life or will be starting soon, believe that God has already given it to you. It’s yours because this is your moment too.
In Conclusion
Just as anything else in life requires practice, so does faith. It takes faith to be strong, courageous, and fearless. In your soul and mind, choose to believe that God is with you. With your mouth, confess it on a daily basis. As a result, and over time, you’ll build that spiritual and mental muscle of strength, courage, and fearlessness.
