Gladstone Regional Mens Network

27/08/2025

I read Joshua 1 this week and “be strong and of good courage appears 3 times in that chapter, 4 times if you include verse 7; When God says something 4 times you need to listen.
I have been a Christian since 2006 when I answered Christ's call on my life. Lots of things changed in my heart, but a lot of things didn't.
Everything I knew about strength and courage was learned directly from Hollywood,
actors like John Wayne, Denzel Washington and Keanu Reeves.
Many of us are taught independence as a right of passage to rely on our own strengths and our own courage, but our God wants us to rely on Him who is always faithful. Let me unpack what I believe God is saying, I will add scripture links so you can evaluate it for yourselves.
So I googled strength and courage in God’s eyes according to this verse. I share now in the hope of helping one other person.
Source: https://dailyverse.knowing-jesus.com/joshua-1-9
He was to draw his strength from the Lord God and was not to be dependent on his own brains or brawn. Had Joshua or the people of Israel sought to conquer the Promised Land by means of their own courage and strength, they would fail. Instead, they were to place their trust in the Lord, their God Who had promised to be with them wherever they went.

Source: https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/joshua-1/
Be strong and of good courage: Joshua was called to be bold in God. The emphasis given to this command (Joshua 1:6, 1:7, 1:9, 1:18) suggests that Joshua needed this strong encouragement. He would need God’s strength and courage to conquer Canaan and divide the land as an inheritance to Israel.
i. The sense is that Joshua would find this strength and courage in Yahweh, not in himself. As Paul would later explain in Ephesians 6:10, Joshua was to be strong in the LORD and in the power of His might. This is a pattern for believers, to find their strength in God and not in self.
ii. “Joshua seems to have been afraid of this responsibility. I say this because the most repeated words in the chapter are those commanding him not to be afraid. God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous three times (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9), then adds, ‘Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged’ (Joshua 1:9). At the end of the chapter, the people tell Joshua the same thing: ‘Only be strong and courageous!’ (Joshua 1:18). In spite of what must therefore have been a very acute sense of inadequacy, Joshua did indeed take charge. From the very first, he showed that he was the Lord’s man for this hour.” (Boice)
The reason I included the first one is because it is a simple breakdown and for me it is a massive shift and in plain language tells me where I am going wrong. The other one is a bit more meaty.
So what does this look like? For me it looks like, if I am frustrated at something, who am I trusting in to fix it, me or God? I find that the higher my frustration levels the more it points to me. Knowing my strength comes from the Maker of the heavens and the earth will be a major shift in focus.
I believe we all need to study the word of our God more, not doing it out of diligence to read the bible but to meditate on it, let the truth of a passage or a chapter sink in and really take root in your heart. Business and achievement are the catchcry of our lives today, stop being too busy and spend time in His Word for that is where your strength and courage are truly found.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

02/08/2025

Heard His Still, Small Voice?

[ 1 min read ★ ]

And your ears shall hear a word behind you,
saying, “This is the way, walk in it”—Isaiah 30:21

Still, small voice—the words come from the First Book of Kings. The Prophet Elijah emerged from a cave on the mountain called Horeb:

“ . . a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire . . .” (1 Kings 19:11-12).

After the fire, Elijah heard a “still, small voice.” God’s voice. God taught Elijah something that day. He taught us. He demonstrated, in dramatic manner, a preferred method of communication.

So, what is the “still, small voice”? Well, it’s more about our thoughts than about an audible voice. So, thoughts . . . they can be crystallized in many ways: in words—sort of an inner voice—or perhaps as pictures, feelings, or impulses. Originating them in the mind of another is neither complicated, nor difficult. We do it every day. Engaging in conversation with someone, we direct their thinking and they ours. There are limits, of course. We need some combination of physical media—ink on paper, pixels on screens, ones and zeros flowing over wires, vibrations of vocal cords, waves of electromagnetic radiation. Does God need physical media to originate thoughts in our minds? No, of course not. If we follow the King, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is there already—he dwells within us (Romans 8:9-11).

Okay, so what do we do?

Could’ve God already been at work in your mind, originating thoughts? I’ll bet. Could it be that you didn’t notice, didn’t recognize it? Begin today, brother, to sift. Begin to note which thoughts are likely yours alone, which were clearly originated by others . . . and which just might’ve been originated by God.

Your brother in Christ,