Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Deut. 31:6

Can you imagine being Joshua and being the one chosen to take over for Moses himself? After all, who would be big enough to fill the shoes of Moses? I know how I would have felt – fearful, inadequate and very weak!

But looking back in scripture, Exodus 4:10-13, we see the story of God calling Moses to lead the people out of Egypt. Here, Moses reminds God of his weakness and calls Him to choose someone else. I know for a fact that would be me! (Yes, I can speak and can even tell a pretty good story, but leading people to find a new life in a totally different land – no thank you!) So we see Moses,the man being called by God to lead the people, was NOT a great man of courage, nor did he have the confidence to be this mighty man of faith for God!
Moses probably knew the heart of Joshua – I’m sure he could sense and feel his fear and faintness of heart for the job he was being called to do. Joshua however, did not need a pat on the back for self-confidence. He needed only one thing – the assurance that God, a loving and mighty God would be there and go ahead of them every step of the way.

Strength and courage does not come from within us. They come from knowing you have a God who stands behind you – a God who has chosen each one of us, and a God who will never leave us in this challenge.

If we were strong and courage was easy, we would miss out on knowing God in His fullness – His loving confidence, His strength and His faithfulness. Be encouraged then in a God who calls you to His service – and as a winner!

And be filled with confidence expectation!