Strong and courageous

Posted by Jeffrey Smith March 22nd, 2016 2,004 Views 0 Comments

Joshua 1:9: 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

Philippians 4:13: I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Admittedly you can find both of these scriptures on a daily calendar in just about any Christian household across American and probably most of the world. They have been relegated to the cliché scripture that we have read hundreds of times, maybe more. The fact is, that we can grow calloused to the them because over time our experience is to either look deeper in scripture or shrink back into our worldly thought process that tells us that these scriptures are for those over achievers in life. I am here to tell you that looking at these scriptures with fresh eyes will restore our day and may change the way we move in our lives going forward. When we have tough times these scriptures roll off the tongue like a little leaguer sticks out his bat at an oncoming pitch. It is all with a certain amount of well, uncertainty. 

The body is an amazing gift from the Lord and it will adapt to most any situation. I have been training for some endurance events coming up later this year. While I was doing some cross training, I was in a class setting, and yet I was the only one who showed up. It was painfully obvious when I was being stretched. No one to blend in with, just me and the instructor. I call her the great humbler, because if you think you're fit, she will exploit where you are not! While I was going through the workout I was pushed well beyond my limits and the instructor kept saying, "your body will adapt, it is an amazing thing, just keep on pushing". When you feel like you have nothing left, there is always more. The reason we are held back is because of our minds. Our minds tell us we cannot do anymore, we are shutting this down, it is too much.   Yet if we push past that voice, and say no! we are going to continue, there is always a little more before we collapse. 

I am reminded of these scriptures not because of a physical threshold, but as a faith threshold. It is our faith that is even more amazing than our body. It is our faith that can increase when we are pushed. It is our faith that says when we are done. I encourage you today to look at the single sentence, " Be strong and courageous. Just focus on that. The Lord is telling us to be just that. Through Jesus, we have an unlimited supply of all things. It is our faith that deepens the well within us. When we work our faith like our body, it too will adapt. We can either become complacent and limit what He can do in and through us, or we can seek, ask, knock and watch our faith become refined like our bodies responding to exercise. We can do ALL things through Christ, not some things, not a couple of things, ALL things. That is important in how we gauge our limits in this life. When something looks bigger than us in this life, our faith has to adapt to it. We can never be limited in this life unless our minds win the war of limits with Him. Take the limits off of Jesus, and be strong, be courageous, and through Jesus ALL things will be completed. Walk confidently in this life at all times, and let us build our faith together that we may run the race of the truth of Jesus Christ.