Be Strong and Courageous
I have always been intrigued by the frequency of the phrase "be strong and courageous." We see God say this to Joshua in verses 6, 7 and 9. We see the phrase again in verse 18 but this time it's the people talking to Joshua. If we dig a little deeper and search back into Deuteronomy, we find this same phrase used 3 times in chapter 31 when Joshua was named as Moses' successor and commissioned. In Deut. 23:6, Moses says it to all the people. In Deut. 23:7, Moses says it to Joshua in front of the people (Interestingly, Moses also tells Joshua that God will never leave him or forsake him similar to what God tells Joshua in Joshua 1:5). Finally, God used this phrase when speaking to Joshua during his commissioning in Deut. 31:23. Tally that up and that means the phrase "be strong and courageous" was used 7 times with regard to Joshua: once by Moses to the people, once by Moses to Joshua, four times by God to Joshua and once by the people to Joshua. Talk about being surrounded by encouragement! God encourages our leadership, but it's also important for our leadership to be encouraged by his/her leadership as well as the people being led. Here is one practical example: God has called my pastor, Pastor Patrick to lead Calvary AG. Pastor needs to be encouraged by God. But Pastor also needs to be encouraged by the church board and Southern New England Ministry Network leaders as well as by all of us in the congregation. This model can be used in any ministry. We need to accept God's encouragement for our ministry, encourage those under our ministry, and encourage those overseeing our ministry. We always have a role in the process.
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