{"id":98161,"date":"2026-09-23T16:23:23","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T21:23:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=98161"},"modified":"2026-09-23T16:23:23","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T21:23:23","slug":"courage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/courage\/","title":{"rendered":"Courage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t<p>by Zeke Flores<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;<em>Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified nor dismayed, for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go<\/em>&#8221; (Joshua 1:9).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Joshua 1 opens with a major transition. Moses is gone, and Joshua now carries the weight of leading Israel into the land they&#8217;ve waited for for decades. Joshua 1:9 isn&#8217;t just a motivational line; it&#8217;s God&#8217;s direct command to a man stepping into a role that probably felt overwhelming. Joshua wasn&#8217;t told to be courageous because he naturally was; he was told to be courageous because obedience would require it.<\/p>\n<p>The context matters. Joshua had already spent years watching Israel&#8217;s inconsistency, complaints, fear, and rebellion. Now he&#8217;s responsible for guiding them into battles, distributing land, and enforcing God&#8217;s law. Courage wasn&#8217;t optional; it was necessary for the work ahead.<\/p>\n<p>For us, courage often looks less dramatic but just as necessary.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>It&#8217;s choosing integrity when compromise is easier.<\/li>\n<li>It&#8217;s stepping into leadership when you&#8217;d rather stay unnoticed.<\/li>\n<li>It&#8217;s obeying God when the outcome isn&#8217;t guaranteed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The command to Joshua still speaks: strength and courage aren&#8217;t personality traits; they&#8217;re responses to God&#8217;s presence and promise.<\/p>\n<p>Wherever obedience feels intimidating, Joshua 1:9 reminds you that God is the reason you can move forward without folding under pressure.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Zeke Flores &#8220;Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not be terrified nor dismayed, for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go&#8221; (Joshua 1:9). Joshua 1 opens with a major transition. Moses is gone, and Joshua now carries the weight of leading Israel into the land they&#8217;ve waited for&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1126],"class_list":["post-98161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-courage"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":57598,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/joshuas-encouragement\/","url_meta":{"origin":98161,"position":0},"title":"Joshua\u2019s Encouragement","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 3, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer As the children of Israel were preparing to go into the Promised Land, Moses delivered a series of speeches to help them understand how important their love and obedience to God would be (see Deuteronomy 6:1-9). Moses would not enter the Land himself, but Joshua had been\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29954,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/rules-for-prosperity-and-success\/","url_meta":{"origin":98161,"position":1},"title":"Rules for Prosperity and Success","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Joshua 1:1-9 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Moses had died and Joshua now finds himself the leader of a nation about to conquer a land to claim as their own. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0God appears to Joshua and offers words of encouragement - Joshua 1:7-9 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The advise was excellent for Joshua, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Audio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":60410,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-were-the-mighty-men-of-valor\/","url_meta":{"origin":98161,"position":2},"title":"Who were the mighty men of valor?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 20, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good morning, Who are the mighty men of valor in\u00a0 Joshua 1:14-15? Are they special skilled forces or just faithful men of courage and mental strength, who are willing to do what God instructs them to do? Answer: \"Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, \"Pass through\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50208,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-cowardly\/","url_meta":{"origin":98161,"position":3},"title":"What is &#8220;cowardly&#8221;?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi Jeff, Can you tell me what the \"cowardly\" is referring to in\u00a0Revelation 21:8? Thank you! Answer: The Greek word\u00a0deilos refers to someone who is fearful or timid. It is the type of fear caused by a lack of faith. \"He said to them, 'Why are you afraid, you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7935,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-saved-joshua-and-caleb\/","url_meta":{"origin":98161,"position":4},"title":"What saved Joshua and Caleb?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 2, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: While teaching then the book of Numbers last evening all went pretty well until we arrived at chapter 14. The question was asked: \"Apparently, what saved Joshua and Caleb?\" I said that it was Moses because he was their mediator and interceded for the people. Several in the class\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":98507,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/gods-provision-and-personal-responsibility\/","url_meta":{"origin":98161,"position":5},"title":"God&#8217;s Provision and Personal Responsibility","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 16, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores \"How long will you put off entering to take possession of the land ...?\" (Joshua 18:3). Joshua confronts seven tribes who haven't taken possession of their land yet. They're hesitant, passive, and slow to act. Yahweh has given the land, but they haven't moved. Joshua's question exposes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98161\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}