Faith or By Fear?
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9, NKJV
In the midst of all the current problems, let’s take a moment and see what God might say to us all. It would be the same thing He told Joshua to tell His people as they were about to cross the Jordan river into the promised land. They were facing unknowns, large cities and enemies that, at one point, were described as “Giants”. They knew they were going to face one battle after another in this “promised land”. God knew and understood their fears and anxiety. Were they facing trouble? Yes. Were there going to be causalities? Yes. Were they likely to panic at times? Yes.
Let’s listen to God in that verse.
The verse begins with, “Have I not commanded you”. It is like God is saying to His people, “Calm down, I’ve got this”.
I am not, by any means, making light of our situation concerning this virus. Also, I am not telling us to not be cautious and take every precaution we can, and we should listen closely to experts in this field. I am just encouraging all of us to be reminded of the words of God, especially of the verse in Joshua 1:9. The challenge for God’s people as they were about to cross the Jordan river was to react to their great challenge either by faith or by fear.
That is exactly what we face in these times today. We will face this current challenge either by “Faith or by Fear? I hope and pray that we face it with faith. Faith in God that He’s got this. I happen to be 73 with underlying heart conditions. I believe that God’s got this. I hope you do as well.
Be encouraged today in knowing that; “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4, NKJV.
Riley Pippen