No to Discouragement, Yes to Strength
Notes
Transcript
Discouragement Strength
Discouragement Strength
“Be strong and courageous, for you will distribute the land I swore to their ancestors to give them as an inheritance. Above all, be strong and very courageous to observe carefully the whole instruction my servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go. This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do. Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Who has ever been told “Be strong”?
Maybe it was whenever you were young and a friend or sibling stole a toy away from you. Maybe it was whenever you were in pain during a peewee football game and had alligator tears rolling down your cheeks on the sideline. Maybe it was a teacher telling you to press through a tough math test. Maybe it was trying to lift something heavy off the ground. Maybe you are nervous for something monumental in your life. *Story of being a sophomore and having to step up and start as varsity QB*
Maybe you had just lost someone you loved (and either yourself or someone else around you told you to be strong). Maybe you were going through an intense season of mental anguish and deep, almost unexplainable sadness.
Be strong
used 30 times in Scripture. One for every day of the month.
Be strong and courageous; don’t be terrified or afraid of them. For the Lord your God is the one who will go with you; he will not leave you or abandon you.”
Moses then summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will go with this people into the land the Lord swore to give to their ancestors. You will enable them to take possession of it.
The Lord commissioned Joshua son of Nun, “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I swore to them, and I will be with you.”
“Be strong and courageous, for you will distribute the land I swore to their ancestors to give them as an inheritance.
Above all, be strong and very courageous to observe carefully the whole instruction my servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go.
Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Anyone who rebels against your order and does not obey your words in all that you command him, will be put to death. Above all, be strong and courageous!”
Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid or discouraged. Be strong and courageous, for the Lord will do this to all the enemies you fight.”
Be strong! Let’s prove ourselves strong for our people and for the cities of our God. May the Lord’s will be done.”
“As for me, I am going the way of all of the earth. Be strong and be a man,
But if you go with them, do it! Be strong for battle! But God will make you stumble before the enemy, for God has the power to help or to make one stumble.”
Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart be courageous.
Wait for the Lord.
The Lord of Armies says this: “Let your hands be strong, you who now hear these words that the prophets spoke when the foundations were laid for the rebuilding of the temple, the house of the Lord of Armies.
Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong.
You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
… and so on.
How do we be strong?
“You can’t conjure up strength like a wizard summoning a genie. It comes from meditating on words like these. Joshua 1:8 tells us to meditate on Scripture day and night. As you do so, you’ll learn our Lord is all powerful. There’s no exhausting of His might, no diminishing of His power, no ebbing of His fortitude.”
Verse 6 - “distribute”: inherit
Verse 6 - “swore”: promise
Verse 7 - “observe”: do; act
A person only truly believes the things they actually do and live out.
Verse 7 - “right or left”:
Verse 8 - “meditate”: utter; mutter; moan
Man who is beat to a pulp. Boxer who have been through 11 rounds. Yet they’re still clinging to the vision. They’re still anchored to the hope. The married to the cause.
“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.” Tyson
Internalized truth. It’s inside me.
Verse 8 - “observe”: guard; protect
Verse 8 - flourish and succeed in what the LORD has for you
Trust me- you want what He has for you. His plan is best. What comes from His hands is better than anything else you could have/pursue in life.
Someone’s out to steal. Someone’s out to destroy. “Keep watch over this- it’s invaluable. It’s precious.” Protect the word that has been planted in you. Birds stealing the seed.
And there it is: Joshua 1:9. Coffee mugs, bumper stickers, leather journals, etc. But this verse looks better here *heart* than it does here *journal*
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#1 Do not be afraid
Agonizing anxiety
Fear that overcomes faith
“Fear is overestimating your problems and underestimating your God. How often we minimize our Savior and maximize our storms!”
How about we reverse this? Faith that overcomes fear
For many of us, we need to think and rationalize wayyy less and pray wayyy more. Because listen: as humans, whenever we plan and rationalize, we almost always leave out the biggest factor and influence- God.
“If God were small enough to be understood, he wouldn’t be big enough to be worshipped.” Evelyn Underhill
Fear is the sin of forgetfulness.
Don’t forget. Do have faith.
#2 Do not be discouraged
Not a single good thing is said about discouragement in the Bible. Not a word.
Discouragement is Satan siphoning your stamina
“When I’m discouraged, it’s because I’m looking at myself, my own goals, my hopes and aspirations, my dreams and drives. Whenever I’m encouraged, it’s because I’m looking at the Lord and His plans and purposes.”
Resignation - Give it to God. Surrender.
Elle and I moving away
Recalibration - God turns blows into blessings and setbacks into comebacks
Us departing. Fear and discouragement of “what’s next” for this group. Y’all, he turns what seems like a setback into a comeback.
Recalculation - Thankfulness. Count blessings and add up gains. Make a list, keep a journal!
Press ahead. Be galvanized by God’s grace.
#3 Receive strength from the Savior
Friend who just lost dad in a horrific accident.
Peace is a Person. Strength is a Person. Purpose is a Person. Hope is a Person. Comfort is a Person. His name is Jesus.
We meditate on the words here because they are HIS WORDS. And we meet God Himself in the pages of Scripture. We come to know the Savior personally by digging in here. Living, breathing, dynamic relationship.
“I can’t understand this” “I’m not a reader” “I don’t have time” “It’s not my thing”
You serious? Y’all are brilliant! The things you memorize, the capabilities you exhibit. You can tell me Mike Trout’s full stat line, as well as the Angel’s whole roster, but you can’t read the NLT that’s at a 6th grade reading level? You can recite page after page of script, and memorize notes and harmonies, but you can’t read this Book?
It’s because I love ya that I tell ya this- you are buying into a LIE. You need to see what’s robbing you, and be pointed towards the only true Source of strength.
“It’s boring? It’s dull?” Man, you’ve played right into the hands of Satan. The birds are picking the seeds. Of course he wants you to think you can’t do it, don’t have time, or it’s simply boring and not relevant. So long as you believe those lies, you can say goodbye to strength. Discouragement and fear will be the water you are immersed in. Strength in the Savior belongs to those who are willing to say yes and simply surrender. Resign to Him, or resign to the way of the world.
Bible Project, RightNow Media, YouVersion, etc., etc., etc. Endless tools. Question is this: are you willing? Do you want to walk with Him?
When this comes alive to you, He comes alive to you.
“He is with you wherever you go”
“Strong faith glorifies God because it treats Him as God.” Charles H. Spurgeon