“This is My command: be strong and courageous. Never be afraid or discouraged because I am your God, the Eternal One, and I will remain with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9 (TVT)
To live FREE and FEARLESS, we will need to decide to be strong and courageous. Whenever we hear of “freedom” we know that someone has had to conquer insecurity, uncertainty, failure, discouragement and disappointment. That freedom didn’t come by staying on the shore of compromise or complacency. That person decided to take a risk to go beyond their comfort zone. What fueled that desire was knowing that there was a cause greater than the fear they were feeling. I’ve heard it said that there are people on the other side of our obedience, and I like to say it this way…There are people on the other side of our fears.
Discouragement is a tool of the enemy to get believers to give up on their dream, to cause them to live a life that is small and to steal their testimony. Discouragement focuses on self where courage focuses on God and others. In Joshua 1:9, God tells us to NEVER be afraid or discouraged, because He is our God. The Bible says we overcome by the blood of Jesus and the word of our testimony (Revelations 12;11). The enemy wants to steal our courage by having us to focus on ourselves rather than the God we belong to or on others. He is out to steal the testimony you will share once you come through this trial. We can choose today to “STOP THE FEAR and DISCOURAGEMENT” by reminding ourselves to whom we belong – GOD. God wants to assure us today that we belong to Him and that He is in our boat. Things may look bad, but our God is bigger than any storm in our lives. DO NOT FEAR…only believe in the love that God has for you today. Remind yourself that God loves you and HE will never leave you or forsake you. Things may look bad now, but this is not the ending of your story. Son and daughter…be strong and of good courage, I’m with you (says God).
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
President Franklin Roosevelt said, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear.”
In 1 Samuel 17:26-29, David was a young man that understood what it was to be not afraid or discouraged when faced with an overwhelming situation. He shows us how to conquer it by having faith in the love God had for him. He faced Goliath, which represents a mocking spirit, against God and His people. David did not fear or get discouraged by the threat of the enemy (Goliath, instead he said, “Is there not a cause?” He knew there was freedom for him and God’s people on the other side of his fears and his faith in God took the enemy down. Your faith today will take the enemy down too. Is there not a cause…Loving God and Loving People?! (Deneen Quartero)
TODAY’S DECLARATION
“I am loved by God and stand free of fear and discouragement. I’m more than a conquer and I overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony.”
TODAY’S BIBLE READING
- Old Testament: Joshua 20-21; Psalms 79
- New Testament: Mark 3:20-35; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16
