In the book of Joshua, specifically the first chapter, God says quite a few times to "be strong and have courage" and frequently reminds Joshua and his men that He will be with them always. In the midst of these exhortations, He also says (with clear instruction) to study the law, meditate on the law, know the law, obey the law, and you will be successful and prosperous.
With Jesus, of course, we know that we have fulfilled the law through Him. Not that we ourselves have lived up to the expectations God sets forth in the law, but Jesus did, and through Him, we are seen as righteous. Does that mean that God's commands to obey and respect and know and live by the law are pointless? Not at all. Take notice of what God says in 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. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; 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 terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
Just three verses, and so many wonderful things to get out of them.
For the sake of this study, when I say "the law," I am using the language used in Joshua, but am referring to (for our application), the Word. The Holy Bible. For every word that comes out of the mouth of God is law, is it not? It is to be obeyed and taken seriously. He is truth, His word is Truth, and what is Truth is our reality. We live immersed in it and it affects every area of our lives, whether we are conscious of this or not. He commands our reality, so we must take note of what He says. How could we live effectively (especially for Him) without it, without knowing what He says about Himself, ourselves, and the world around us?
First off, I couldn't help but notice that God's exhortations to His people to be "strong and courageous" are immediately followed by instructions on how to do so (obey the law, meditate on the law) and a promise to extract fear or hesitation from us -- He will be with us wherever we go. That means that having strength and courage are directly tied to the Word and our ability to believe His promises -- to believe the truth. But I'll get back to that later.
Before, I posed this question: if Jesus fulfilled the law, then are we not bound to obey it anymore? No. We still should. God specifically says to be "careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left," but the big difference is that in obeying the law (or the Word of God), we are not earning our salvation or favor with God, but displaying our love for God. Everything we do, we do for God in hopes that we might put His glory on display. This is shown in the fact that God says "do not turn from it to the right or to the left." We are to neither take advantage of the grace given to us and use it as an excuse to do whatever we want (straying to the left, or toward abuse of grace), but neither should we understand strict obedience to the law as the means by which we are saved or sanctified (straying to the right, or toward legalism). Balance is needed; walking that thin line in between abuse of grace and legalism is necessary. What is needed to stay on that narrow road? I'm not entirely sure, but I'd guess a lot of grace and a lot of repentance.
Next, I noticed that God talks a lot about strength and courage, obeying the law, and being comforted in the fact that He is with us. But how are all of these tied together? By what you believe. By what you are feeding yourself and, as a result, what you see as Truth.
For some reason, I'm not entirely sure why, I took French in high school. I don't remember too much from it, but when looking at the word "courageous," I couldn't help but notice that the beginning is awfully similar to the French word for "heart," which is "coeur." (Which, the pronunciation reminds me of the English word "core," which is very interesting as well, but I digress.) I decided to look up the original meaning of the word, or at least the change in its definition over time, and sure enough, it comes from the old French word corage (which has since evolved into the word courage), meaning "heart, innermost feelings; temper." Courage, therefore, is seen as being drawn from the heart. Makes sense.
Continuing in the evolution of the word, though, I thought it interesting that in Middle English, the word (or a variation of it) was used to mean "what is in one's mind or thoughts." Whoa. Mind = blown. So... how are strength and courage connected to meditating on the Word? Because true strength, true courage, is only gained by reading and meditating on the Word of God, on Truth. Pour the Word into your heart and your mind, and it will give you strength and courage.
Think about it... if you don't know the Truth, you're likely to believe any lie that the devil throws at you. How can you become strong, courageous, steadfast, firm, unyielding in your faith? By knowing the Truth. By meditating on the Word of God. Courage comes not only from what is in your heart, but what is on your mind. What you think about. What you believe. And what you believe affects the way you act.
The last part of this three-way connection includes God's promise of His presence no matter where they go. It is in believing this promise that the Israelites, and we, can learn that the strength and courage we draw from the Word is ultimately not our own, but God's. We are not confident in our own abilities, in our own strength and courage, but in the strength and courage of God. How do we gain this confidence in Him? Once again, by knowing Him, seeing Him in the light of His Truth, and understanding that He is who He says He is. We can be confident in the strength and courage of God when we understand and believe that He is always with us. We can understand and believe that He is always with us when we read His Word and see that He tells us this.
Moses led the Israelites almost to the Promised Land, but not quite. Through Moses, God delivered His people from captivity. But it was through Joshua that God gave them the ultimate fulfillment (for a time) of that which He promised them -- the Promised Land. Courage and strength drawn from the law, or the Word of God, led them to believe truth (God will always be with them, and it is His strength and courage, not their own, that leads them to success), which led them to action, which led them to experiencing the fulfillment of and the fullness of God's promises.
The Word...
- offers courage
- gives strength
- exposes Truth
- reinforces promises
- assures victory
Believing in the Truth of the Word and acting upon it...
- allows change to take place
- brings us to new levels of intimacy with God
- takes us to new places in our spiritual walk with Him, opening new doors and new opportunities
- opens you up for further use by the Father
- allows you to be a leader for God's people
- paves the way for new spiritual growth in your community
- allows you to enter into the fullness of God's promises
And last, but not least...
- allows you to know God more intimately and make Him more intimately known to those around you
All this. From three verses. In the Word. How important is the Word of God in our lives!? Look at what meditating on His Word, His Truth, His character, can do. It's amazing. It's mind blowing. It makes me want more. The Truth transforms the way you see the world (it gives you a more accurate view of it), and transforms the way you act.
It makes you new. He makes you new. His Word makes you new. See Romans 12:2.
When you believe the lies of the enemy about a certain topic, you are subsequently rejecting all other possible "truths" regarding that topic. For instance, if you believe the world is round, you are implying that you reject the notion that it is flat, or triangular, or any other shape. If you believe that God is good, you are rejecting the notion that He is bad, or evil, or corrupt. If you believe the lies of the devil, you are rejecting those notions which God explicitly states are true. So, knowing what God says is Truth is essential in combatting the lies of the enemy. (It's what Jesus did when He was tempted by Satan, after all. Matthew 4:1-11)
That being said, don't ever believe the lie that the Word can't or won't help you in a rough situation or in a spiritual dry spell. It keeps you from hearing the Truth when you need it most.
