People tend to think that Joshua was scared. That maybe he was feeling like he couldn't do it. That he didn't want to be the guy following Moses. That he didn't feel prepared to do what he was being asked to do by God. Some, all, or none of this may be true. What do we know based on God's Word? We know that Joshua was with Moses as his right arm through everything with the Israelites. We know that Joshua went up Mt. Sinai when Moses was receiving the Ten Commandments. We know that Joshua was allowed to go into the tent with Moses when Moses would meet with God and that Joshua would stay even after Moses left. I think Joshua trusted that God would take care of everything, but it still helped to get those words of encouragement from God Himself..."Be strong and courageous". That phrase is mentioned three times in this chapter alone. Twice it is said by God and once by some men Joshua was talking to.
I was always confident before going into any game of any sport. I always had a little bit of anxiety, but I was confident. I'll never forget my sophomore year. We had one of the best soccer teams around, especially our defense. Our goalie, Albert, was the man. Not only was he tall enough to get those ones hit up in the corner, but he was athletic and could grab the low shots too. I played sweeper. This is the last guy before you get to the goalie. I was at sweeper because I was a slide tackling fool, and rarely missed. Our center fullback was Craig. Craig could have played sweeper, but he was a little better at offense than me, so he would go up alot on offense and I would stay back. Then we had two guys on the wings. I can't quite recall who they were (give me a break...it's been almost 15 years!). We had a big game coming up, and our assistant coach, Hector (refer to one of the older posts) pulled me aside before getting on the bus and said, "You're riding with me." He had never done this before, so I was both excited and thought it was a little odd. The whole ride up there, Hector was encouraging me and pumping me up for the game. He gave me a game goal of getting 20 slide tackles in the game. I was ready to do it! Then when we were getting close to the field, Hector put on "Eye of the Tiger"...you know the Rocky song? He pumped it up through his 15" speakers in the back of his car and 6"x9" speakers throughout! When we pulled into the parking lot next to the bus with the rest of the team, Hector and I were shouting! I was rocking back and forth in my seat! I jumped out and ran to the bus with my adrenaline rushing! The door opened, and I jumped up to the front of the bus and proceeded to pump up everyone on the bus! We were wild men! We came running off of the bus screaming! The other team took a look at us and realized that they were in for a fight! They didn't have a chance and we hadn't even started the game! We were strong and courageous! We were already confident, but now we had that extra push that Joshua got as well, to move with such a confidence that everyone knew which side was going to win before any battle even took place! Have a great day guys!
Ron Foster
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