Introduction
What the world needs now is not love sweet love in the shade made popular by Jackie DeShannon and Dionne Warwick. It was a sweet ditty with a wonderful melody, but frivolous in terms of its message.
So, What Does the World Need Now?
What the world needs now is courage fortified with strength. When Moses was called home by God, his second was commissioned by God. The commission was embedded with two promises plus a third conditional promise:
- No one will be able stand against you all the days of your life
- I will never leave you nor forsake you…the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go
- Be careful to live by the book and then you will be prosperous and successful.
Also embedded in this commission are three commands:
- Be strong and courageous
- You will lead this people
- Do not be afraid and do not be discouraged
Here is the text of Joshua 1:5-9 from which these highlights are abstracted
5 No one will be able to stand 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. 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.”
Courage in the Contemporary World
Yes, this commissioning was about the battlefield. But courage is not just about the battlefield. The fact of the matter is that in many respects, the battlefield is the easier place to display courage. But living everyday life with courage takes a mighty determination to be strong. For example, Thanksgiving is rushing upon us next week. Three families I know will be faced with family gatherings with a mixture of believer and unbelievers seeded with transgender, and homosexual family members. Throw into that mix family members who are radically left, aggressive, and mean spirited. How is a believer to manage these challenges. Every holiday season for the past ten years or so, I have had a variety of folks with such family challenges pull me aside and question, “What do I do with…?”
That question is followed by:
- “I don’t want to do battle with my family.”
Or
- “My brother always ridicules us for our conservative politics.”
Or
- “What I do I tell my kids when Aunt Susie’s transgender daughter shows up with her female husband (as my six-year-old put it).
Or
- “I am intimidated by all this cultural confusion, but I’m not much of an apologist,” as another fellow put it.
Here are two principles from Proverbs that are helpful:
- Don’t respond from what you feel because you’re likely to express sinful words. Proverbs 10:19 should be kept in mind, “Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent holds their tongues.
- Don’t internalize the arrows of fools. Remember Proverbs 12:16, “Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult.”
James adds another pound of wisdom when he writes, be slow to speak, quick to listen, and slow to anger (1:19).
So where in is courage exercised in such situations? Courage is doing and saying the right thing despite the fear of pain, loss, retaliation, even in extreme cases, death. But courage is not responding with a mean spirit, but rather with gentleness and kindness and forgiving spirit (Eph 4:32) forth rightly speaking the truth in love (Eph 4:15).
Now, lets broaden our investigation. What does courage look like in the broader community (Christian and beyond). We handle the beyond with the same principles we do the broader community of the church because we are believers and all people are created in the image of God.
What kind of situations call for courage? Work environments when required to be unethical. Neighborhood bully or pattern of recklessness that endangers others. Or a fellow believer who is cheating on his wife, demeaning his/her spouse. Galatians 6:1ff calls for a courageous action, “You who are spiritual restore such a one” and Paul describes how that action is to be executed.
In a combination of verses, Paul indicates how courage is exercised when someone is teaching error (2 Tim 2;25; Romans 16:17; Phil 4:2-9; 1 Tim 6:3-4).
The bottom line is that the courageous believer does not remain aloof. He does not avoid challenges. He loves truth. He loves righteousness. He loves justice, because he loves God who has first love him/her. J. R. R. Tolkien said it this way, “I do not love the sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.” For the believer, that would be the glory of God.
What About the Promises?
• No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life
• I will never leave you nor forsake you…the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go
• Be careful to live by the book and then you will be prosperous and successful.
You can count on it. No one will be able to stand against you. But it may be life-long battle. Hence, we have the instruction of Romans 12:18-21. Leave the vengeance to God, ultimately, God will judge. And, in the meantime, do not overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good.
Jesus left us with the promise in Matt 28:20, Low I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Our job to ensure that we prosper and succeed is to live by the book, no matter what!
So, What Does It Look Like to Be Courageous?
- Be strong in the Lord (Eph 6:10) relying on the Lord’s strength.
- Lead God’s people by word and deed (Matt 5:5:1-12)
- Do not be afraid and do not be discouraged. We have these words from the Jesus who walks on water, “Take courage! It is I; do not be afraid.” (Mat 14:27)
Conclusion and Implementation
The conclusion is straight forward in this instance. Christian, there are no exceptions. Everyone one has the same commission, the same command, and the same promises.
The implementation is also straight forward. Trust God and enter the battle. Begin by fearing God who gave the commission. This is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 1:7) and next embrace Prov 3:5-6:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding; [trust not your own understanding]
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight