Be Courageous. Do Not Let Your Heart Sway to the Right or to the Left
Joshua 1:7-9
“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 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.”
In Joshua’s time, God said four things: “Be extremely courageous; do not turn to the right or to the left; keep this book of the law. Believe in My words absolutely and take action.” In the end, these words from God became the absolute weapons for Joshua to take the land of Canaan. The same is true with us. In the course of fulfilling God’s Will, there are difficulties. And there are people who oppose, misunderstand, and block. But we need to fight with goodness and win. God surely gives us His thoughts so that we can win that fight. When God speaks, He also continues to work through us with this law so that we can fulfill that Will.
Overcome difficulties with the weapon of faith
Flowing water is both strong and soft. When you see how rocks are paved, water has so much power. At first, water cannot continue to flow because of rocks, but little by little, water consistently carves out all of the rocks in its way. As long as it flows, it will go all the way to the sea. In this way, with faith too, even though there are a lot of difficulties and conflicts, if you’re stagnant, then you will rot. When you go all the way, there’s nobody who can block you. So, until then, don’t be discouraged but continue to flow, fix yourself, and go.
Be bold; then you will not be shaken. People can become controlled by Satan, by their own thoughts, and by other people’s thoughts. Be extremely courageous; then you will escape those things. By giving the Word to Joshua, it was the same as giving him a weapon. Joshua was able to win because he kept the law that God had given him. In this way, as much as people know, they can become brave and courageous. When they know, they will not be scared because they know what will happen.
You have to take action in order to be bold. When you take action, you receive strength. If you don’t take action, you become scared. With experience, you can become bold.
It is a battle of thoughts
When war breaks out, Satan and demons use an intimidating atmosphere to play with your psychology and make you lose courage. You have to really fight intelligently–it is a mental fight. You fight with the words of truth. Fight in a way where they can’t latch onto your weaknesses. You have to fight against your weaknesses and your faults. You should not give even a crack to Satan. Physically, those who are possessed by demons feel nervous and become afraid.
Victory is achieved through the Lord
When the Lord takes action, he will surely win. But you need to completely become one with him and support him. You can’t just watch and follow. You need to have that kind of divine courage. And through that, you overcome limitations. So converse with God and converse with the Holy Spirit. God answers right away when you call Him, but people don’t know that. Even if you don’t hear the answer, keep taking action.
We must calculate and fight with wisdom, and we must also have very thorough organization. We need to support the leader in order to win. Whether in religion or politics, there are always counterparts; things cannot be done by yourself. One person has to look forward, and the other one has to look backwards, then you can see all of the enemies. That is the importance of becoming one.
The secret to being courageous
Like Joshua, keep talking to God. Fight against the wicked with words and pray. You need to fight a fair fight; then fundamental problems will be resolved. The Holy Spirit says, “Do it quickly but everyone needs to move together.” You must keep repeating and keep doing it, and that’s really what’s scary and what’s powerful. You have to live your life of faith continuously.
Even if the atmosphere is nice, don’t be caught up by the atmosphere and don’t be shaken. Always be careful of what you say, and do not speak recklessly when caught up by the atmosphere. You should grow and make your thoughts really strong. Once your mind is alive, you’re more powerful than artillery.
You must take ownership of something. Then you will be interested in it and fix it immediately if it breaks down. God looks for those who are sincere and will really cherish God, and He looks for those who can be entrusted with His work. If you take God as yours, then you’ll be blessed. You have to entrust everything to God and really think that you are the owner.