Are you strong and courageous?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.
(Joshua 1:9 (NIV))

Possibly the most difficult thing to wholeheartedly accept is that God is with us wherever we go. We believe it when things are going good. We say it less often when things are beginning to look less than perfect. We tell others to believe it when things are going badly for them, but do we honestly believe it when we are facing things in our lives that are less than desirable?

It is so easy to be strong and courageous when there is no reason to fear. Human nature is very bold and positive when there is no present danger. It is a little less easy to be strong and courageous when you start to feel threatened in some manner. Finally, it is almost impossible to keep any reasonable facsimile of strength and courage when faced with an immediate threat. The only people who are able to maintain any resemblance of calm and courage in the face of danger are those who have actually trained for such an event.

How can we, as believers, train for these times?

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
(Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV))

It cannot be simpler. In order to be strong and courageous, we need to train ourselves to rely on God in all situations. We need to know Him, His Son Jesus, the Holy Spirit and God’s Word so that we can quickly summon the appropriate armor to use in defending against the attacks of the enemy. We must also be able to listen and obey the voice of our Lord just as a soldier listens and obeys the voice of his commanding officer. We must be able to quickly discern what is from God and what is from the enemy.

Are you fully trained?

Are you strong and courageous?

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Keep you eyes focused on the Lord!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
(Joshua 1:9 (NIV))

With the current state of the world, are you at afraid? Are you discouraged?

Do you have the strength and courage to fully rely on God no matter what happens?

I realize that these are tough questions to answer honestly. Each of us would like to think that we can walk the proverbial walk and not just talk the talk, but how many of us have truly been tested in our faith? Just like when a baby first learns to walk, it takes small steps where we gingerly venture out in uncertainty. With each step of faith that we take, our strength and courage grow as we learn that we can be confident in the promises and the presence of the Lord. Just like a baby, if we don’t allow the stumbles and falls to deter us, we will soon find ourselves with the confidence to walk boldly with the Lord.

I have found a fantastic benefit to walking boldly with the Lord.

Peace!

In all circumstances that I have faced so far in my life since accepting Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior, I have learned to find peace.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 4:7 (NIV))

They say that hindsight is 20/20. It is also a tremendous way to remind yourself of the fulfilled promises and presence of the Lord. When you look back, you find the strength and courage to trust in the Lord as you look to the future fulfillment of His promises.

Keep you eyes focused on the Lord!

Copyright 1998 – 2021 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Something to remember as we face a new year!

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ©

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
(Joshua 1:9 (NIV))

Do you worry about the events transpiring in this nation and in the world?

Does the uncertainty of a new year bring fear or do you trust completely in the Lord as His timeline unfolds?

I have seen many different points of view being offered as the last year unfolded. I am seeing many different points of view being offer up as to what to expect in the coming year and beyond. If you pay attention to the world, you will probably find yourself fearful. But, if you place your faith in Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, then you have professed that your hope is not of this world. You have professed that you are living in this world, but you are not of this world.

What do you see coming in the new year? Perhaps I should ask what do you hope to see in the new year? Do you expect to see the world return to a state of normalcy similar to what it was just a few short months ago? From what I have been reading and studying, I honestly do not believe that this world will ever again see what we had previously come to know as normal.

If you are a student of God’s Word, then you should be a student of prophecy, for it is estimated that approximately one forth of the Bible is prophecy. Many of the prophecies have already come to fulfillment. Others are being fulfilled right before our eyes. To be honest with you, there are things that have been unfolding and are continuing to unfold that I honestly don’t think can be reversed or even stopped. Does this cause fear? Are you discouraged by the current state of the world? Are you looking at this world from your perspective or from God’s perspective? If we place our trust in the Lord, then why do we fear what is to come?

We know the outcome!

If we truly profess a faith in Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior and we know the outcome of all things, then what do we have to fear! Keep your eyes focused on Jesus and look up!

Something to remember as we face a new year!

Copyright 1998 – 2020 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Does the Lord go with you wherever you go?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
(Joshua 1:9 (NIV))

There will be many journeys that we will travel during our lifetime. There will be many perilous circumstances that we will encounter along those journeys. Do you have someone to travel with you? Do you have someone whom you can trust to never leave you and to never forsake you?

One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
(Proverbs 18:24 (NIV))

With all that the world and the enemy will send our way during our lifetimes, we are not capable of making it through this life on our own. We are encouraged to not forsake the fellowship of other believers, for the Body of Christ offers encouragement. It offers fellowship. It offers prayer, and it offers truth when the world offers lies. One thing that the Body of Christ has to offer is constant reminders of God’s grace and mercy and His unfailing love for us. The Body of Christ can and will remind us to be strong in our faith. In our life, we are called to be faithful to the Lord. We are called to be faithful to God’s Word. When we know God’s Word, we have a constant reminder of all things as they were written in Joshua. The more that we know of God’s Word, the more that we know of His promises are true!

If we are told that there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother, then we can count on that for every day of our lives!

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
(Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV))

We are told many times that the Lord goes with us. Simply seek His heart and learn to walk with Him. Think about that for a moment. How would you like to invite the Lord to go with you wherever you go? How would you like for the Lord to guide your every step? How would you like to rest in the assurance that the Creator of the universe loves you and watches out for you?

It is so simple to have this for yourself. Simply pray something like the following.

Lord, Jesus, I am a sinner who is in need of a Savior. Without you, I am nothing. With you, all things are possible. I am tired of being nothing. I am tired of being a sinner without hope. Come into my heart and walk with me all the days of my life. Guide me in your ways. Protect me from the attacks of the enemy. I surrender all to you, Lord. Lead me and I will follow!

Does the Lord go with you wherever you go?

Copyright 1998 – 2018 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do you find strength in God?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
(Joshua 1:9 (NIV))

This passage is powerful!

If you think about it, this passage can be summarized by another passage.

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?
(Romans 8:31 (NIV))

These two passage should give us strength. They should give us courage. They should give us hope! They should give us faith!

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
(Hebrews 11:1 (NIV))

I find it comforting that we are told repeatedly that we can put our trust in God. Even when the world mocks us and threatens us, we can stand firmly on the promises that we have been given. We can stand firmly in the knowledge that we are important to God. We are so important that He sent His only Son, Jesus, into this world so that we could have the ultimate experience of grace and mercy.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
(John 3:16 (NIV))

I don’t know about you, but I find strength in these words. God has repeatedly told us to be strong and to not be discouraged. He even sent Jesus to live as an example.

Do you find strength in God?

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Is God with you wherever you go?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.
(Joshua 1:9 (NIV))

In these days when it seems that society is attacking anything that is of God and His people, isn’t it good to know that God has not forsaken us. He is there always. All we have to do is call upon His Name.

In certain parts of this country, and the world, it is not “cool” or acceptable to admit that you believe in Jesus and God and that you follow God’s Word. In some places, it is even downright dangerous to proclaim your faith, yet God has stated that He would be with us wherever we go. Even if where we go requires us to lay down our physical life. We, as believers in this country have not had to test our faith in this manner as believers in other parts of the world have. The time may be coming when this is the case. If it does, we need to rely on God always being there.

Is God with you wherever you go?

Copyright 1998 – 2013 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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