Some encouragement from Joshua
At the end of one week and the start of the next, what words do you need to hear? This week, my post prompted by the word “brave” struck a chord with some people and is the one that has stuck in my mind the most too. “Fear not” and its variants appear in the Bible 365 times. That makes me take notice. This is often the “do not be afraid” verse that comes to my mind first. I love the Amplified version here that adds in “intimidated” as further clarification. Fear often looks like being intimidated in my life. Maybe it does in yours too. Intimidated by what we think others may think of us; intimidated by the seemingly perfect lives we see on social media; intimidated by what is required of us in a position or calling; intimidated by how badly we could fail. The key is held in this verse. God is with us wherever we go, whatever we are facing, whether we tune in to His presence or not. I know that this verse was written to a very specific person and we have to be careful to look at the context of verses too. The fact that the same instructions and encouragement is given to so many others in the Bible reassures me that this was not a one-off promise. This is for me today and for you too.
This post is part of a series for Write 31 Days called “For Your Encouragement.” I am taking requests from readers on what they want encouragement about and responding to the best of my ability. I would love to hear from you.
You can read the rest of the posts in this series here.