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Be Strong. Be Courageous. Be Careful To Be Obedient


No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 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. (Joshua 1:5-7)

          Be strong. Be courageous. Be careful to be obedient. Why? Because 1) God will be with you, 2) you will lead these people (whoever they happen to be in your life) and 3) in doing so, you will be successful wherever you go. 
          Being strong doesn't come naturally to me. Neither do being courageous or careful to be obedient. What comes naturally is giving in to temptation or to myself. What comes naturally is to avoid unpleasantness. What comes naturally is to do what comes naturally and  it seems like that's never what I'm told to do. Fifteen years ago, I lost ninety pounds. I did it by getting angry enough about it to spend a year focused on a war with myself and by teaming up with a group of women to whom I reported my failures and successes each week. I was careful. As I recall, caring for my diet took up most of my "free" attention every day. When I stopped being careful, I started gaining weight back.
          Most of what I have accomplished in my life has been the result of my being strong, courageous and careful to be obedient. These are core matters about which we need to pray for wisdom, direction and attitude.

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