Have You Ever Been Discouraged?

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9. ESV.

While in college for my Bachelor’s Degree in nursing, the school allowed you to test and earn credits. I completed the course work and needed six more units to graduate. So the first exam I passed with flying colors so now I needed three units for my degree. So I tried the exam on Educational Psychology and when the results came, I failed. I missed it by one point.

FAILURE

Have you ever failed at anything? Have you ever struggled with disappointment? Humanly speaking, I knew I had not studied the material and so in my own power I decided to try again. This time I checked out a textbook on Educational Psychology. I studied and did what I could to understand the material in the textbook. Armed with new information I tried the exam again and I failed.

I still needed three units to graduate. At this point in my career, my bachelor’s degree seemed like a dream.

JOSHUA

Joshua is given some sage advice in Joshua 1: 1-9. He is to fill the shoes of Moses as the leader to take the Israelites into the promised land. Moses had delivered them to the edge of the promised land but it was not his job to lead them as he had sinned as was only able to see the promised land. So in this passage, Moses has died and Joshua is commissioned to be Moses’ successor.

We see the first be strong and courageous in Joshua 1:6, then in verse 7, and lastly a third time in Joshua 1:9. God gives instructions to Joshua, a plan if you will. God promises that He has given the land to be occupied by the Israelites. Joshua has been wandering for the same forty years, this was because of disobedience of the Israelites. The punishment for the Israelites not trusting God and obeying God was that many died in the desert. The children of those that left Egypt would be the ones to enter the promised land.

I wonder why God told Joshua to be strong and courageous, to not be discouraged. Let’s see he was starting a new job, he was much older now, he knew the tendency for these people was to sin and not listen, perhaps he was overwhelmed at the task. None of this is declared but what is declared is to study God’s word, read with me verse eight. Moses had died.

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Joshua 1:8. ESV.

Beloved, how are you doing on the above command. How are you doing on meditating on God’s word day and night? How are you doing on following and doing God’s word? God gives Joshua a promise, that if he will meditate on God’s word day and night and to do what God’s word says, Joshua would be prosperous and have good success.

For me, I almost did not finish my Bachelor’s Degree, the failure of trying twice prevented me from trying a third time on testing to earn three units. It took a crisis, a boss that was not very kind to be a change agent in my life. You see, I was offered a job as Director of Nurses, I accepted and now I needed the degree.

CONCLUSION

I returned to school for the three units and succeeded. I flourished in my Master’s Degree program and so what started out as a failure ended up as a blessing of success.

We know that despite trials, Joshua was successful in leading the Israelites into the promised land.

Beloved, God is good all the time and all the time God is Good. How have you seen God’s goodness?

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Father God, thank you that I do not have to be discouraged. Thank you that I can be strong and courageous. If anyone is struggling with failure, help them to try again. In Jesus’ name, Amen

Describe a time when you failed? Where do you need courage?