“Hey, strong gyal, you gonna be here on Sunday? We need you to roll that stone away!” He cracked himself up with his joke both times he told it. Once to me and then again to our pastor. I didn’t mind. I even used this story in my message when I spoke at our Sunrise Service on Resurrection morning. Luke tells us that the women went to the tomb early that morning. If I had been in that group, I would have tried to roll the stone away. But would I have been courageous enough to step inside the tomb? They went in without hesitation, even though they could not have known what they would find inside. In Mark’s account, he reveals that Peter and John ran to the tomb to see if what the women said was true. John got there first, but he didn’t go in. Clearly, John was the stronger runner, yet Peter courageously, without hesitation, went inside the tomb. Reading these accounts, I asked myself, “What if you’re strong but not courageous?”
Be Strong and Courageous
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
I used to think that courage and strength always went together. But I know from personal experience that we can be emotionally, physically, or financially strong without being courageous.
How can we apply the command to be strong and courageous? And if we keep the verse in context, do we have to obey it? After all, it was spoken by Moses to a specific group of people at a particular season in their lives.
Let’s walk this out together, dear ones; be strong and courageous in Him! I believe we can extract the principle and implement it in our lives when the situation and calling from God align. So, what if you’re strong but not courageous? The strength to be courageous comes from remembering that the Lord our God will be with us wherever we go. There’s no reason to be afraid when we are confident that God is with us. There is encouragement found in His presence. And there is every reason to believe that our resurrected Savior will embolden us for every calling He places on our lives.