Courage that is Commanded
Joshua 1:9 NIV “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Courage is an interesting characteristic. Like falling in love, you will know you are in love when you fall in love. Similarly, you and I know we have courage when find we have courage for a hard situation. Courage in the Hebrew language is interpreted as: wind, breath, air, and spirit. I’ve always been interested in the concept of courage because it is a spiritual thing. In a way, courage equals spirit. If you have the Spirit (Holy), then you have courage. It’s an automatic and guaranteed situation. When the Spirit of God is moving in your heart, soul, mind, and spirit, then you have courage! Guaranteed!
The reverse of this is also true. When we have a time of discouragement, this is not the work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, if we are experiencing discouragement, then this is the work of another spirit influencing us. We need to reject these thoughts and feelings. Since this is not from God, then we need to break the spirit off of us in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus, we do not receive this. In the book of Joshua 1:6-9, we find that courage. We find that courage is what God wants in his servant Joshua. Three times He talks to him about this. He tells him be strong and to be of good courage. In the Hebrew, the word for this is “ruach,” which means spirit; so He is saying to him, “Be strong and of a good spirit.” Sometimes we can be of a bad spirit, influenced in a way that produces discouragement. Joshua is then told this from God: “Have I not told you to be of good courage?”
Then God continues to speak to Joshua, and it’s the third time that he says to him, “I command you to be of good courage.” God is saying, “I command you to be of a good spirit. Keep that ‘bad spirit’ away from you.” What God would speak to all of His believers today is that courage is commanded by God in our life, and He wants us to reject the spirit of discouragement. It doesn’t come from God, and what He wants to do is send the Holy Spirit, Who, when He comes, will cause us to automatically feel courageous.
Today, let’s break off the spirit of discouragement! Do not receive it in the name of Jesus! If God commands us, then He can accomplish that in my life! We walk in the commandment of God, which is this: He commands us to be of a good spirit, to be courageous and to be strong.