Imagine what it would be like to take over the leadership of a company where a great leader just retired. The new leader would no doubt have many apprehensions. There would be the tendency to compare oneself to the former leader and often feel inadequate. Those feelings would likely be even greater in proportion to the size of task you've been asked to assume.
This was the situation for Joshua. He served what some would say was the greatest leader in Israel's history. He served Moses, the man who met face to face with God; the one who received the 10 commandments from the hands of the Lord. Now Joshua was to take over. Consider how frightening this assignment might have been. Then consider as well how large a task this was. He was commissioned to take what could have been 2 million people into the Promised Land. The previous generation had failed to do this. Now the same fortified walls and giants confronted them as they would try again. Was Joshua up for the task? What would he need to be successful?
The answer we find in Joshua 1 is spectacular but simple. God comes to Joshua and multiple times tells him, "I will be with you". I will be with you, I will be with you, I will be with you.
Coupled with that statement, and really a logical consequence of its truth, God also tells Joshua repeatedly, "Be strong and courageous". Faced with a daunting task of leadership God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous because He would be with him. What does Joshua need to be successful? Only that God be with him and that believing this he remain strong and courageous in the face of the challenges that were sure to come.
Our reading in Psalm 121 echoes this thought. The psalm begins with a question which probably every human has asked some time in their life. "From where does my help come?" Faced with the challenges of our life and our desire to navigate them successfully we often ask from where our help will come. In verse 2 the answer comes with great clarity. "My help comes from the Lord, who made the heaven and the earth." Simple but spectacular as well is this answer. If you consider what it takes to create heaven and earth, and realize that your God is not only this Creator, but is the One who promises to be with you, then you can go forward with confidence in your God. Psalm 121:8 offers this great promise that can sustain us through ever challenge this life throws at us. "The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore." What a great promise!
Are you dealing with challenges in your life? Are you fearful that you may fail? Is that fear crippling you from moving forward? If so, remember the only thing you need to be successful is that the Lord, creator of heaven and earth, is with you. Cling to this promise and walk forward with strength and courage. May God grant us His grace to live courageously, confident that His presence is all we need.
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