Read the first post in this 2-part series: Stronger by Waiting

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9, NIV)

The Challenge With Waiting

While waiting can feel tortuous, it can also become a place where we stay too long. We miss or deliberately disobey, when God says we’re strong enough and the waiting is over. 

The growth we experience in seasons of waiting can lead us to becoming comfortable with where we are and what we’re doing. And in that comfort, we resist God’s call to take action and move forward. Perhaps we do this because we don’t want to go through another season of growth and stretching. (Because honestly, that’s just hard.) Perhaps we stay because we don’t really want to do what God is telling us. (Think Jonah.) But a lot of times, we stay because in reality, we might just be a little afraid of what’s next. The vision may feel to big. The cost may feel too high. The changes we’ll have to make may seem too much. 

But God says, we’re strong enough. 

Our season of preparation, and the building of our faith and character, is where God wants it to be for our next level.

The Promise of Strong Enough

Joshua was the one appointed as Moses’ successor in the deliverance of the Israelites. He was Moses’ understudy for 40 years (what a season of waiting!). And during this season of preparation, God developed Joshua to be strong enough for his next assignment. 

Joshua was with Moses in some valley experiences - 40 years of wandering in the dessert. He witnessed Moses’ mountain top experiences on Mount Sinai. He demonstrated his faith in God’s power as one of the twelve spies assessing the promised land. 

Joshua’s strength, faith, courage, and leadership were developed during these 40 years of waiting. He was strong enough. 

And so are we. 

In Joshua 1:6, 7; 9 the Lord tells Joshua to be strong and courageous. Repeating this command three times stresses how important this is. The Lord repeats what He says so that we may fully take in and hear it. 

The Lord follows up His command to be strong and courageous by admonishing Joshua to not be afraid or discouraged. The Lord had given Joshua a big vision. To accomplish that vision would require sacrifice, doing scary things, taking risks, and going into a place of the unknown with unknown people. 

When God gives us visions like these, we may wonder if we can do it, if we have what it takes, and we may be afraid of either fear or success. Or, the vision may fill us with so much awe that we can’t believe it’s for us. 

But when God says the season of qavah (waiting) is over, we must move forward. Because just as He told Joshua, He says to us, that He will be with us wherever we go.

So into this new season, God is with us. As we shift from waiting into action, God is with us. As we put our faith into action to accomplish the vision, God is with us. 

Our seasons of qavah (waiting) are designed to elevate us to greater strength, greater faith, and greater works. 

And we are strong enough.

Weekly Power Shifts

Questions for reflection and prayer:

• Similar to the Lord telling Joshua three times to be strong and courageous, what has the Lord been saying to you over and over? 
• When thinking about the vision God has placed on your heart, what keeps you standing still instead of moving forward? 
• How is relying on your own strength causing you to stay in your waiting period? How can relying on Holy Spirit provided strength spur you into action?

Set action steps:

Coupling awareness with action is what helps us move forward. What action steps will you put into place to begin moving out of your season of waiting into a new season of action?