“No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.” (Joshua 2:11 NLT)
The context of the above words by the prostitute Rahab come as a result of God’s powerful display of His power and majesty as He rolled back the Red Sea and made a dry path on which the children of Israel could pass from slavery into their Promised Land.
May I ask you a very simple, straight forward question? Has God lost His power? Is He no longer able or willing to perform miracles for us, His children? Are we so blind to the gift of His presence that we continue to wallow in sin and shame rather than live bold, forgiven, and courageous lives to His honor and fame? Is my mind so focused on my desire to sin that I no longer acknowledge His unlimited resource of strength that lives in me as His child?
May I suggest we either take His Word seriously or quit pretending to be something we’re clearly not. Sin must be taken seriously, of course, but to be paralyzed by it is sin in and of itself. Sin is our decision to live as we please. We love our sin, that’s why we fail to discipline ourselves to be rid of it.
For several years I drove a Volkswagen diesel Rabbit. On the Interstate if I was driving into the wind the fastest I could go was about 45 mph. It was great on gas, but it had no power. For my 65th birthday my precious daughter gave me a 2012 Mustang GT California Special. It wasn’t only very nice, it was FAST!
After stopping at a rest area on my way home in my new GT, scanning my mirror for traffic as I merged back onto the highway, I glanced at the speedometer and was already over 100 mph in 3rd gear (it had a 5-speed manual transmission 😊). What’s my point? We’re living our life as a Jesus follower as though we’re a Diesel Rabbit while the Lord Jesus has made us a powerful Mustang.
Please, child of God, stop living under submission to the enemy from whom you’ve been delivered as surely as the children of Israel were delivered from Egypt. Walk victoriously in the power of God’s Spirit and stop wallowing in the mire of submission to your own flesh. You can live above sin! You can live victoriously over your flesh! You CAN, if you WILL! Will you?
Perhaps this prayer by Pastor Rick Warren will encourage and inspire you as it did me: “God, I want to be a person of courage. I want to live to please you and not other people. I want to build my life on a biblical worldview and stand courageously for my faith. I make these two commitments today: First, I accept your Word as my authority and the foundation for my life. Second, I want to spend time with you every day and get to know you personally. I want to be so full of joy and courage that people say, ‘That person’s been with Jesus.’ I ask you to help me to be fearless for the truth. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”
Align yourself with 2-5 other like-minded, courageous people of God whom you can count on to hold you accountable to walk the walk and not merely talk the talk. Have them on speed-dial so you can contact them when you’re being tempted. Create Godly disciplines that will help you train your mind to lean on the Holy Spirit to protect you from defaulting to sin when you can easily guard your purity.
Our life in Christ is too vital to waste opportunities to live courageously for Him! We must stand strong, not only for our sake, but for the sake of those who are watching our lives.
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 
Thank you Ed! Keep on preaching brother. Steve
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