not fear.
“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, NLT))
Joshua is appointed to replace Moses to lead Israel into Canaan —
As we face many crisis in our nations can we look to the Word of God for answers? We see this scripture as God commanding Joshua to be strong and courageous as he leads a Nation. Do you think we could apply this command in some ways to the state of our individual nations? If so, in what ways? If not, why not?
thedailylily.com 
I believe that the Lord made a provision for US HIS PEOPLE to be able to apply this command when He said in 2Chronicles 7″14…”IF MY PEOPLE who are called by MY NAME will humble themselves, pray, seek, crave and require of Me, My Face, turn from their wicked ways then will I hear from Heaven, forgive their sin and heal their land (nation) Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.”
And in Daniel 2 the Scriptures tell us how Daniel prayed about his nation when he said, “Blessed be the the GOD of Heaven for wisdom and might are His. HE CHANGES the times and the seasons. He removes kings and sets up kings; gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those with understanding. He reveals the secret things and He knows what’s in the darkness and the LIGHT dwells with Him.”
The Scriptures say, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” He has made a way for God to rule in the affairs of men. Now “man” has to allow that authoritative power and influence that God wields by His Holy Government. And to do that we have to obey 2Chron.`4:7, stated above. If My people, If My people cries the Lord.
We can be strong in the power of His might, humble ourselves, seek, pray and TURN.
Correction: That Scripture is 2 Chronicles 7:14 as stated earlier in the comment
Sara asks:”As we face many crisis in our nations can we look to the Word of God for answers?” My answer would be yes. If we trust Jesus Christ as the Lord of our lives our hope is His help. This is one scripture that lets us know where the Source of our help is:
“I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1-2
If we have chosen to disregard Jesus Christ, the Word of God still has answers for us. Here is one from Psalm 9:17: “The wicked shall be turned into hell, And all the nations that forget God.” This sounds hard but our loving God is righteous in His judgements. And the hope is He does respond to true repentence.
“ Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “ Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; Return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm. Who knows if He will turn and relent, And leave a blessing behind Him—” Joel 2:12-14
Sara says:” We see this scripture as God commanding Joshua to be strong and courageous as he leads a a Nation.Do you think we could apply this command in some ways to the state of our individual nations? If so, in what ways? If not, why not?”
I think if we the church in each nation can believe and take this blog scripture to heart and believe through prayer and by subsequent actions that we believe the warnings and promises in His word, then we can see change and hope. Joshua took provisions and moved into the promise land. There are promises of God we can move into if we will be strong, courageous and obedient.
It is exciting to note that the verses just before, Chpt 1:9 of the book of Joshua read, (3-8) Every place upon which your foot shall tread, I have given it to you. No man shall be able to stand before you, for I will be with you. Be strong and courageous for you shall cause My people to inherit this land. Do all according to the Law that has come from the mouth of God for then you shall make your way prosperous, but meditate on the book of the Law day and night and do accordingly and you will deal wisely and have good success.”
I believe God has given us the formula for taking our nation for the Lord God. If we will rebuke fear and timidity in our message, if we will not only speak the Word but DO the Word, the Lord will enable us to take His Gospel to our own nation and then to “the ends if the earth” (Acts)
We can bring comfort, consolation, solace, hope, peace, promise and sweet charity fo the Gospel to the people in our own nation and then to the nations of the world because we follow the recipe that God has given us in His Word. God has given us all the ingreidents, and all the precise measurements for a succesful routing of the enemy and the winning of our nation for God’s Kingdom. 2 Chronicles 7:14 and Joshua 1:1-18. And in the New Testament we have Timothy 2:1…which admonishes us to pray for our leaders and those in authority over us that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness….which is acceptable and pleasing to the Lord.
There it is! And as Sara says in her book, “BUNDLES MORE”.
Yes I think we can hold on to what God told Joshua, ” be strong and courageous.” In Psalm 46:10 NIV he says Be STILL, AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD; I WILL BE EXALTED AMONG THE NATIONS, I WILL BE EXALTED IN THE EARTH. We can count on that promise. God will be with HIS people. We may be weak but God is strong. Be STILL, focus on him. In Hebrews 13: 5 NIV it reads…
God has said, “Never will I leave you or forsake you.” What a promise in these times.
I am studying Beth Moore’s study, A WOMEN’S HEART where she brought the before mentioned scriptures to light. Moses, Joshua’s mentor, had a time of terrible dealings with the Egyptians. The times were terrible, horrendous. He could have put the I myself in it and not accomplished the movement of the people out of Egypt. Instead he was STILL, stood firmly, and counted on the I AM (GOD), the one who is strong.
In reading about Moses I thought isn’t it something. The people were God’s chosen who were in bondage (slavery). They worked in a nation that was not of God and served the nation not of God. God loved them and had promised to take care of them and did. He brought them out of the nation not of God and drew them unto his self. He placed a cloud behind them to confuse the enemy before crossing the Red Sea, and a Pillar of Fire in front of them at night to comfort them with HIS presence. He brought them into the desert where He showed and proved to them that they could count on HIM that He is a loving and kind God, a caretaker of His people, and has their best interest at heart. Those who stood in obedience, STILL, and focused on the I AM He took them into the promise land. I think the last line is the KEY whether a nation (you or a group of people) will fall or be counted with those between God’s protective hand as the winds of the enemy blow all around.
I have faith to believe as well that God is in control of the Nations and holds them in His Heart and desires that we pray and seek God on the behalf of nations. I ask myself at times, what keeps me from choosing prayer when we face what seems impossible?
Lamentations 4 and 5 tells us that the Prophet Jeremiah describes the people’s fate. He told them what they had done to deserve terrible punishment. The sins of the prophets, priests, and people had brought about the city’s destruction. And, look at the prayer prayed for Restoration:
Chapter 5
” 1 Lord, remember what has happened to us.
See how we have been disgraced!
2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
our homes to foreigners.
3 We are orphaned and fatherless.
Our mothers are widowed.
4 We have to pay for water to drink,
and even firewood is expensive.
5 Those who pursue us are at our heels;
we are exhausted but are given no rest.
6 We submitted to Egypt and Assyria
to get enough food to survive.
7 Our ancestors sinned, but they have died—
and we are suffering the punishment they deserved!
8 Slaves have now become our masters;
there is no one left to rescue us.
9 We hunt for food at the risk of our lives,
for violence rules the countryside.
10 The famine has blackened our skin
as though baked in an oven.
11 Our enemies rape the women in Jerusalem[a]
and the young girls in all the towns of Judah.
12 Our princes are being hanged by their thumbs,
and our elders are treated with contempt.
13 Young men are led away to work at millstones,
and boys stagger under heavy loads of wood.
14 The elders no longer sit in the city gates;
the young men no longer dance and sing.
15 Joy has left our hearts;
our dancing has turned to mourning.
16 The garlands have[b] fallen from our heads.
Weep for us because we have sinned.
17 Our hearts are sick and weary,
and our eyes grow dim with tears.
18 For Jerusalem[c] is empty and desolate,
a place haunted by jackals.
19 But Lord, you remain the same forever!
Your throne continues from generation to generation.
20 Why do you continue to forget us?
Why have you abandoned us for so long?
21 Restore us, O Lord, and bring us back to you again!
Give us back the joys we once had!
22 Or have you utterly rejected us?
Are you angry with us still?”
And, we learn that God does restore. Let us rally and pray for Our Nations.Hopefully we will not neglect God in this dark hour as we face the fate of our Nations.
And, as we say so often Esther saved a whole nation out of obedience.
Thank you Sara for the encouraging scripture on the power of prayer.
If we allow our roots of faith to grow down deep into God’s grace for our Nations then hopefully we will be like the green tree in Psalm 52:8. And Rev 22:2 speaks of that tree of life that has leaves that are healing for the nations.
Yes, that’s right Sara, Esther did save a whole nation out of obedience. I’d like to remind us that her first action was prayer and fasting. She had all her people do the same. Yes, perfect story to remind us how much power there is in prayer.
Now, Esther had some faith, didn’t she?
I’d like to encourage everyone to listen to focus on the family, with Dr. Dobson today. Look for the one about white water rafting. Joshua Useff (?sp) gives his testimony.
Great testimony on Focus on the Family with Dr. Dobson.
Needles, thanks for encouraging us to listen to the testimony on Dr Dobson. It sure showed the scripture Sara posted in her blog, “For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” . But also that He is very serious about us following Him and going where He wants us to go or there are consequences. Listening to it sent a chill through me that we certainly don’t want to put Him off.