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This morning we continue the series of messages titled A New Heart for A New Year, which comes from a Celtic prayer, titled Lord of My Heart. Here is that prayer –
Lord of my heart, give me vision to inspire me,that working or resting, I may always think of you.
Lord of my heart, give me light to guide me,
that at home or abroad I may always walk in your way.
Lord of my heart, give me wisdom to direct me, that thinking or acting, I may always discern right from wrong.
Lord of my heart, give me courage to strengthen me, that amongst friends or enemies, I may always proclaim your justice.
Lord of my heart, give me trust to console me,
that hungry or well-fed, I may always rely on your mercy.
Lord of my heart, save me from empty praise,
that I may always boast of you.
Lord of my heart, save me from worldly wealth,that I may always look to the riches of heaven.
Lord of my heart, save me from military prowess,
that I may always seek your protection.
Lord of my heart, save me from vain knowledge,
that I may always studyyour word.
Lord of my heart, save me from unnatural pleasures,
that I may always find joy in your wonderful creation.
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall me,
rule over my thoughts and feelings, my words and actions.
In this series, we are studying five themes from that prayer – vision, light, wisdom, courage, and trust. Today’s message is on the theme of courage. The line from the prayer for today is Lord of my heart, give me courage to strengthen me, that amongst friends or enemies, I may always proclaim your justice.
For our Scripture text, we travel to the book of Joshua. In chapter one of Joshua, the generation of wandering through the wilderness has ended. The Hebrew people are poised to cross the Jordan River, about to enter the Promised Land. It was a moment that was centuries in the making. After enduring centuries of bondage in Egypt, after holding to the hope of deliverance for many generations, so much was wrapped up in this moment. After so many years, it had fallen to Joshua to lead the people across the Jordan River and into the Promised Land. In this passage, Joshua receives a word of encouragement of God. It is not only a word of encouragement, but also a reminder of the courage he would need in leading the people.
Joshua 1:5b – 9 –
5 As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.
8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
This morning, as we move through this passage, and the theme of courage, I want to offer you three words, the first of which is,
The Moment.
This was not only the moment for the people, as they prepared to cross the river; it was especially quite a moment for Joshua, as their leader. Moses had passed away. Moses, the great liberator from bondage in Egypt, the great leader through the wilderness wandering, and the receiver of the Law. Moses was the great leader for the people, but now, the mantle of leadership had fallen to Joshua. This was a really big moment for Joshua, and I’m sure he wondered how he would ever fill the role that Moses so ably and capably filled. Just as Moses before him, Joshua would face some great challenges, and resistance from the people. There are always the naysayers, and it wouldn’t take long before that group would express doubts about Joshua, just as they did with Moses. It probably began as they prepared to cross the river, as people began to express their skepticism about what was ahead – couldn’t Joshua find a better place to cross the river? Doesn’t it look extra wide to you? Why cross here? Why am I always in the back? Joshua always puts his favorites in the front. Since I’m in the back, the water is going to be all stirred up and muddy when I have to cross. What if I get swept downstream? Who is going to help me? I think I saw a snake. I’m not getting in that water; not if there are snakes in there. He sure isn’t Moses, is he? You know, we thought Moses was too old, but Joshua is a little on the young side, isn’t he?
This was Joshua’s moment, and it was a really big moment. He had big shoes to fill, there were many challenges ahead, and many challenges pressing in immediately upon them. The people needed to become a nation, requiring a lot of work. The people would sometimes be in agreement with Joshua and sometimes in disagreement.
That’s why we find the repetitive nature of what God says to Joshua. Did you notice how many times God told Joshua to be strong and courageous? Three times God offers that phrase to Joshua, meaning, presumably, that it is the most important of all that is said in this passage. The second time God uses the phrase, note that he adds that Joshua should be strong and very courageous (the word very is added this time). Aside from the three times God uses this phrase, we also read that God says, in verse 9, to not be afraid and do not be discouraged. Do you get the sense that God is telling Joshua something? I sure do, and I think God is telling him to buckle up and hold on, because he has been given a calling and a mission that is going to take him on the ride of his life. It is also an indication that there is a lot of difficult work ahead for Joshua. By the time Joshua hears these admonitions from God, he’s probably thinking, who is my understudy? Who is the next person in line for this position? I may not be up to the task. I’ve noted God’s encouragement to be strong and courageous, and I understand that is a way of telling me that I have a really difficult task ahead, but I’m not sure if I’m up to it. This is God’s way of telling Joshua that he has a lot on his shoulders, and he is going to need to remind himself to not be afraid and not to be discouraged if he is going to lead the people. Joshua will need to repeat those words like a mantra, throughout each day, so he will be prepared when the times get difficult, as the times most certainly did. As soon as Joshua stepped into that river, his life would change, and he needed to be prepared. The Jordan River is not large. In most places, it is probably no wider than this room. In a metaphorical way, however, in a spiritual way, what it meant to cross that river was a really, really big moment. It was crossing a border, a boundary, into an entirely new life. It meant they were leaving behind their old lives and building something new.
Every person has a moment that comes to them, and those are defining moments in life. You might not have faced such a moment yet, but at some point, you will. Granted, it might not be a moment like the one that came to Joshua, but it will be defining moment in your life. And, it is important to note, it is not always a moment we want or that we seek out. Defining moments come to us whether we want them or not, and whether we seek them or not. Those are the moments when we must rise to the occasion, to be prepared for what has come to us. You might be thinking, right now, of some of those moments in your life. If you are, you know what I am talking about.
When I think about the defining moments in my life, they were not moments that I sought out. I did not look for them, and in most cases, I did not welcome them. But they came, nonetheless. One in particular, that might have been the most defining moment in my life, was one I wished would simply go away. It was an incredibly difficult moment, and in that moment, I needed to hear what Joshua heard – be strong and courageous. Be strong and very courageous. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. I did not feel strong or courageous. I was frightened, and I was discouraged. It wasn’t a moment that came and went quickly, which made it every more difficult. It was a moment that carried on over the course of some months, but God did indeed see me through.
All of Joshua’s life was building to this point. He had a good role model in Moses, and he had a lot of opportunity to observe and learn, but now the moment came to him. I’m not sure how confident Joshua was in his abilities as a leader, but I am going to assume that he had his share of doubts. This is obvious to me because God has to tell him, three times, to be strong and courageous. He also tells him, remember, to not be afraid and do not be discouraged. I don’t think it is necessary to say such things to someone who is full of confidence. God, clearly, saw Joshua as being more than up to the task of leading the people, even if Joshua did not. Here is one of the important elements of leadership – the person God calls for a moment, is also the person God equips for that moment. Let me say that again – the person God calls for a moment, is also the person God equips for that moment. So rest assured, and be confident, that however lacking in ability you might feel, the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Whatever moment comes to you in life, God has equipped you for that moment. Even when it feels overwhelming, even when you feel that you are not up to the moment, and when you feel that God has too high an opinion of your abilities and too much confidence in you, God knows what he is doing, and will be with you wherever you go.
The Step.
When I was in high school, my dad had an inflatable rubber raft. I don’t know why he had that raft, as I don’t remember him ever using it, but my friends and I used it. We would take that raft – which was probably big enough for four people – when the spring rains would raise the waters in the creeks and ride it in the rushing water. There was one creek, especially, in my home county – Buffalo Creek – which is a tributary to the Ohio River, and when the spring rains would come, that creek would rise several feet and turn into a rushing, torrent of water. We would put the raft in a truck, drive to a place to put into Buffalo Creek, and pile six or eight of us in that raft and hold on for our lives. It was not the smartest thing to do, I will admit. Sometimes, when you are doing something foolish, you increase the level of foolishness. We would put on our motorcycle helmets – we all rode motorcycles as well – to protect our heads from low-hanging branches or rocks in the water. This was not very smart, because if you fell out of the raft and into that water, the last thing you needed was something heavy to weigh on your head and pull it under the water. Many years later, I switched to canoeing, which was a good deal safer. For several years, I took groups to Falmouth, Kentucky, up in Pendleton County, about ninety miles from here. We would canoe on the Licking River, which was, for the most part, a shallow, slow moving river. In the spot where we put the canoes in the water was an outcropping of rocks, protruding about eight or ten inches out of the water. The guy who ran the canoe livery once told me that when the water rose to cover that outcropping of rocks, they would not put canoes on the river, because it was too dangerous. As he told me, only eight or ten inches of increased water level had enough current to knock you down and sweep you away. My mind went back to when my friends and I got in my dad’s raft, when the water had risen several feet. I did not say anything to the owner of the canoe livery about that foolishness!
Chapter three of Joshua tells us that when the Hebrew people were preparing to cross the river, it was the time of year when it was at flood stage. Seeing the high water most likely did not instill confidence in the people. But when they started to cross, led by the priests carrying the ark of the covenant, the waters stopped flowing. But here is the important note – they had to first step into the water. They had to have the faith that God would carry them safely to the other side. Even though the water had stopped flowing, the rocks were most likely still slick and treacherous. Whatever the fears, however, Joshua and the people took that step.
When you take that step, know that your life is going to change. When the moment comes, we know we cannot remain still, but must go forward. We all know the feeling of being frozen in our steps, unable to go forward, and how frustrating that can be. We fear taking that step, because we know that once we take that step, it will begin of series of events that will alter the course of our life forever. But we must take that step. Once we take that step, there is much we cannot control, and that is frightening to us. Stepping into a moment is like stepping into moving water, which can carry us away at any moment. We might not be able to control our circumstances, but we can control how we respond. Joshua did not always respond in the best way, and neither did Moses, or Abraham, or any other Biblical character. Sometimes, the pressure and the stress of the moment can overwhelm us and cause us to make decisions that are not the best. But we still must take that step, and trust that God is with us.
The Need.
Why does the moment come to us? Because there is a need that we can meet. With any need, it takes a great deal of courage to meet that need, so remember the words, be strong and courageous. Be strong and very courageous. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged, because when the need is great, so is the need for strength and courage. Joshua needed to get the people across the river and into the Promised Land. The time of the wilderness wandering was over; now it was time to become a nation. The wandering in the wilderness bound them together, but there was so much more to do. There was infrastructure to complete, governance to organize, and so much more. The need was tremendous, and it would require so much from Joshua.
Now, let me go back to that Celtic prayer as well, as I want to quote the line from it that serves as today’s theme – Lord of my heart, give me courage to strengthen me, that amongst friends or enemies, I may always proclaim your justice. I love that line, and I especially love that it says that we are to proclaim God’s justice among not only our enemies, but among our friends. It is one matter to proclaim justice among those who disagree with you, or consider themselves to be enemies, but it is a very different matter when you have to confront your friends; that takes a great deal of courage. For Joshua, in building a nation, justice had to be a cornerstone. The great theme of the Old Testament prophets was justice; everyone was to be treated fairly and with justice. A cornerstone of our society is justice, although we have, at times, done a very poor job over the course of our history to see that it comes equally to everyone.
We have been in a reckoning in our society for some months now – really for many years, but especially in recent months – over our failure as a society to treat people justly and fairly. We often have this strange idea in our society – called a zero-sum game – that if you improve one person’s life, you must reduce someone else’s life. If one group is elevated, another group must be reduced. This is not at all true, but much of the contentiousness of our day comes from this kind of thinking. There are too many who think, because you are lifting up this group, it must mean that you are taking away from my group, but this is not at all true. Justice is for everyone, and treating everyone justly and fairly does not mean we have to take away from others. In fact, the only way we can ever truly become the people God intends for us to be is for us to provide justice and equality to every person.
As I begin to wrap this up, let’s take it back to the individual for a moment. Everyone has a moment. Everyone. What is the moment that you are either in, or is yet to come? It might be very personal, but at some time there will also be a moment that asks you to consider how you relate to the world at large as well. You will have moments in which you must consider something very personal, but there are also going to be moments when you have to consider how you will relate to the larger world as well, and it will most likely be a moment that will be about justice and equality. How, in that moment, will you work for justice and equality for others? How will you take your step to do so? How will you meet the need for justice? When you do, you will need to remember the words God spoke to Joshua – Be strong and courageous. Be strong and very courageous. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged.
Amen, and amen.
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