Be Strong and Courageous

“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 1:9 When I think of being courageous, I think of the story of Peter and his willingness to step over in the storm and walk to Jesus on the water without worrying what the others would say out what might could happen. I think in my own life, what decisions have I made or not made because I was worried about the critics? Did I make my decision solely on my faith in Jesus? Probably not. But here I am faced with a new challenge I never dreamed I’d face, and I’m ready, I think. I often wonder about the amount of mental and spiritual barriers Peter must have had to get over before he walked on water. What will the disciples think of him? What if he drowns? Those barriers were overcome by the curiosity of who he could be and what he could do. This curiosity led him stepping out of his comfort and stepping into the unknown. Yeah, Peter almost drowned. Yeah, Jesus saved him. Yeah, I’m sure he had his doubts. Yep, He should not have had his eyes on the winds and waves and should have fixed his eyes on Jesus. And oh yeah, Peter should have had more faith and less doubt in his best friend. But don’t miss the best part of the story for Peter. Peter walked an unknown amount of feet to Jesus and almost drowned. And we know the storm did not cease until they both got back into the boat. So what we can conclude from this is… Jesus and Peter walked back through the storm together. He had a great walk to remember. My hope and prayer is that there would be a moment in your life where you and Jesus have a walk to remember. And no matter how bad the storm, I pray…you would never walk through any storm…without Jesus. Be nice. Grace wins.