“This is my command – be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord you God is with you wherever you go.”
(Joshua 1: NLT)
Have you ever battled crippling fear while attempting to do something you are certain God has told you to move forward in? Some folks refer to it stress-paralyzed; where our feeling of overwhelm can hit pause button on our limbs. This was the subject of my husband’s and my conversation just before we fell asleep last night. How sometimes the first few moments and seemingly small actions of obedience demand such deep courage that we wonder if we possess the propulsion to push past them.
We need to note where Joshua was standing when he received this word from the Lord. He was perched on the edge of the Promised Land; poised with his people squarely between the known past and the unknown future. He was sure the land is filled with giants, certain that the initial momentum required to possess the land would be greater than the stamina necessary to keep it. He knew that if he could successfully throttle up for the initial battle, all new landscape would be acquired for future generations.
Personally, I have been tackling a landmark of hard. For full decades, I had deferred a dream and now, in the past few months, the Lord has patiently prodded my heart to move forward. The initial act of obedience has required me to face a mountain of fear and long-avoided insecurities. Suffice to say, it’s been a big week.
My husband whispered encouragement in the dark, from the safe womb of our covers. “You can do this. It’s going to get easier. I’m proud of you.” And for some reason I remembered the rocket ship, how it expends ninety percent of it’s fuel in the first two minutes take-off requires an extraordinary amount of power. The atmosphere is thick, but once the ship has pushed through, orbit is easy. It takes almost no fuel to float around the entire planet, expanding a our worldview by a full 360 degrees.
I thought of it as we prayed, how through the Holy Spirit we are promised raw power. I look back at my week and wonder how much of my battle to burst past initial limitations was fueled by my own finite resources. I took and deep breath and prayed for more power to push past my comfort zone and into the sweet spot with all new views. I’m not on this new journey alone, the God of the universe is my fuel supply and my breath support. If He’s commanded me to it, won’t He also go through it along with me? Hasn’t He always?
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.”
(Acts 1:8 NLT)
Dear Lord, sometimes being obedient requires terrific momentum and we tend to shy away form the task altogether. Forgive us for fear, it’s our flesh tendency. Clothe us in power, that we would possess the muscle to push through the initial atmosphere and find ourselves floating far above fear with a fresh perspective. Amen.