“This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
Joshua had some big shoes to fill. Moses had died and now he was God’s appointed leader to lead the Children of Israel into the Promised Land. One of the first things Joshua did was send spies into the land on a reconnaissance mission to gather intelligence. Just like he and Caleb had spied out the land 40 years early, Joshua knew it would only take two to be in agreement and come back with a good report.
As those two spies went into Jericho, they found their way to Rahab’s home. After she hid them away from the King’s search party, she went to the rooftop to visit them before they went to sleep. I’m sure what she told them left the two spies amazed.
Rahab shared with them how the whole city and region were completely terrified because they knew the Children of Israel were coming to take the land. She told them that Jericho’s inhabitants had heard all about the great exploits that God had done for them; how He had delivered them from the Egyptians and how the Red Sea parted as they walked across on dry ground. She also told the two spies about how all of those in Jericho had heard about the Children of Israel’s victories in battle against those who had come out to oppose them on their journey through the wilderness, and how every foe was completely destroyed.
The spies left in amazement at all they had heard and couldn’t wait to report it to Joshua. I’m sure this thought must have hit them on their three-day journey back to camp, “And just to think that forty years ago our parents saw themselves as grasshoppers, while all that time our enemies were trembling in fear. Wow, if Mom and Dad had only known how their adversary really saw them!”
Today, be encouraged knowing that your adversary is more afraid of you than you know. He’s terrified at the thought of you moving forward, in the power of God, to take back the strongholds he has built with lies and fear. Today, be strong and full of courage, knowing that “the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”