Deuteronomy 31:7-8 “Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel: “Be strong and bold, for you are the one who will go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their ancestors to give them; and you will put them in possession of it. It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” Today's episode is all about how God is calling us to be bold. He is not leaving us alone to be bold. He goes before us and prepares the way. How can you be bold today? Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Be Bold!
Deuteronomy 31:7-8 “Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel: “Be strong and bold, for you are the one who will go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their ancestors to give them; and you will put them in possession of it. It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
I thought it was interesting that this was a verse that I read this morning. Yesterday at prayer group, we stayed after and did our monthly bookmark meeting. What this means is that we take a look at the bookmark for the month, and we each say what stands out to us. The bookmark is the discerned word for a particular month. Each week at prayer group, we get several words of prophecy from the Lord. We record these words that are given, and there is a team that discerns the words given and picks one: Call, Proclamation, Promise, and Directive for the month. One of our members then types them up and puts them on a bookmark so we can share them with the entire prayer group.
Yesterday we did the bookmark from February 2023. That was almost a year ago, and yet the bookmark was similar to the words that we received yesterday. For the most part, the Lord is not saying new things to us. He is saying the same things we have heard time and time again. Sometimes, He says those things in a new way, and sometimes, He uses very similar words. What is striking to me today is how this passage says, “Be strong and bold,” and this is the same thing He was telling us last February and the same thing He told us yesterday.
In the February bookmark, the Lord said, “Do all to make me known and proclaim my Name. Be bold and step out. Serve me with all you are each and every day. Go now. Do not delay.” The passage talks about being strong and bold so they can take over the promised land. The passage in the bookmark talks about being bold so we can proclaim the Lord’s name. The apostles prayed for this boldness to preach the word of the Lord at a time when it was very dangerous to preach about Jesus. In Acts 4, Peter and John talk to people about Jesus and His resurrection. The rulers, elders, and scribes didn’t like what they were teaching, and they threatened Peter and John as to what would happen to them if they didn’t stop talking about Jesus.
Instead of cowering and obeying when they were told to stop talking about Jesus, they prayed for more boldness to do it anyway. Acts 4:29-31 says, “And now, Lord, look at their threats, and grant to your servants to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.” They asked for boldness, and they were given it. It is the same for us. All we need to do is ask. God is calling us to be bold in our faith. We sometimes worry that we will be alone in this boldness. Sometimes, it can feel like it is us against the world, and when we think about being brave, we aren’t sure we can do it.
In the verse above Moses reminds Joshua that God will be with Him when they go into the promised land. It says, “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” This is reminding Joshua that God will not let them down. He is reminding them that they do not have anything to be afraid of. It is not up to them to defeat the enemy. God will be with them, and He will help them! In the February bookmark, before God told us to be bold, he reminded us, “I am the Lord of the universe.”
God is not calling us to be bold on our own. He is right there with us. He goes before us to prepare the way. For instance, if God is calling you to be bold and step out in faith and pray over someone, then He has already prepared that person’s heart to accept that prayer. If God is asking you to be brave and ask for something then He has already softened hearts and prepared them for you. God says 365 times in the Bible, some version of “do not be afraid.” This is another way to say, “Be bold.”
My friend Peggy at prayer group yesterday was saying she has learned to be bold just by hearing the title of this podcast. She said it reminds her that she can be bold with Jesus by her side. She said she has gotten much bolder since listening. She gets a daily devotional from another friend of ours. She forwards it to many people. She was brave and took a step in faith and gave her grandson a Max Lucado book called “Fearless.” She wasn’t sure how he would respond. He is a teenager and, in the past, has been resistant to faith. However, recently he said he has been reading the Bible. She took this book off of her shelf and said she thought he might like it and gave it to him. Her grandson sent her a text message when he got back home to FL saying that he read the book the entire plane ride and he really liked it.
Do you see how God works? He is helping us to be brave by preparing those we encounter to receive us. I don’t think that means it will always work out as well as it did when Peggy gave her grandson the book. We may encounter some opposition when we step out in faith. We may encounter some people who say no to what we are asking. That is ok. The apostles saw this too. Our job is not to allow these times when people say no to deter us from our mission. That mission is the same for each one of us. That mission is for us to bring the love of Jesus to each and every person that we meet. We can do this because we have Jesus. He is on our side! He is leading the way. Be bold and step out in faith. Bring Jesus’ love to someone you know and love today!
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless each and every person listening. Lord, help us to be brave. Help us to look for opportunities to share your love with others, and then give us the courage to do so. We love you, Lord, and we ask this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name. Amen!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I hope over these last two and a half years of listening you have been able to walk a bit more boldly in your faith. I look forward to seeing you here again on Monday. Remember, Jesus loves you, and so do I! Have a blessed day!
Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Do not let the news of the times you live in wear you down, upset you, depress you. I am a God of victory. I have conquered all by giving my life on the cross and allowing the gift of my Father to raise me from the dead. A gift that He has given you through me. Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid no matter what things look like, no matter how they feel. Trust, Trust in me. Trust in the Father’s tremendous love for all of you and for all of His creation. Trust in the power that can be given to you through the Holy Spirit. Continue daily, daily, every moment you breathe to worship, to praise, to adore, for we are your God, One in three. Holy, undivided, blessed, glorious God. And we love you and give you the victory that is in us