Deuteronomy 31:6
“Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.”
Moses tells the people the same thing, yet in the positive and the negative: “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them”. There will be plenty of times that we will be afraid. To tremble indicates a higher level of fear.
How can this be? How are we to stop being afraid? The previous verses hold the answer. The Lord had delivered them before. When new in Christ we have fewer experiences of rescue. However, the longer we trust Him the more rescues we have.
These increase our hope and build our faith. We know we will be delivered in same fashion. Some times The Lord will put out the fire and other times He protects us within it. Whatever the case, we know it will be ok. It’s a choice to be strong and courageous. We may know about His deliverance, but have a poor attitude. So, we choose fear. This is a bad place. We’ve experienced His deliverance, but choose fear. It’s almost as if we are trying to pout our way out of it.
Choosing strength and courage is a partial victory. We may still be in it, but because of this choice, it changes things. This is part of having joy in the journey. Proverbs 15:15 says that a merry heart has a continual feast. It’s a choice.
Courage is choosing in spite of our feelings. Strength is similar. Continuing to obey and believe is showing strength. We may not feel strong, but the choice is a demonstration of it.
Lord, thanks that You’ve given us enough to trust You. Help us to be strong and courageous.