While trekking in Nepal we frequently had to cross suspension bridges. I confess that I did not like walking across these bridges. Most were carefully constructed and structurally sound, at least by my nonscientific evaluation. That didn’t matter, I still didn’t want to walk on them.
I remember one bridge, in particular. It was made of rope and wood planks. The sides of it had fallen down, so we basically walked on a shaky, bouncing, unstable set of planks, with nothing to hang onto, across a raging river.
One time, I just sat down and refused to cross one of these bridges because of a strong crosswind that was making the bridge sway. Unfortunately, there was no other way for us to go. Even if we returned the direction from which we had traveled, we would have to come to this bridge to cross eventually. Obviously I was eventually able to cross both of those bridges.
Sometimes to make progress we must take risks. The risks appear formidable and probably scare us. We have to summon power and courage to move forward in these situations.
In the Bible Joshua faced just this type of situation. He was about to take the Israelites into battle to possess the land God had promised to give them. It was an awesome task for this newly installed commander. God spoke to Joshua and said, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua could be strong and courageous, not because he was a great warrior and military strategist. He could be strong and courageous because God promised to be with him. God would protect the Israelites and lead them to victory. We can be strong and courageous because God is with us to protect us and will fight for us. He is mightier than anything that may come against us.
Reluctant Retiree 