You Can Walk While You're Worried

Some changes don't ask permission. A parent passes. A job ends. The person who always knew what to do isn't in the room anymore, and suddenly everybody is looking at you. Your stomach drops and the question comes fast: can I really do this?

Joshua knew that feeling. For 40 years he walked behind Moses. He saw the man who led Israel out of Egypt, who stretched his rod over the Red Sea, who spoke with God on the mountaintop. Then Moses died, and God's first words to Joshua were blunt: "Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them" (Joshua 1:2, NIV).

Pastor Lonnie Clinkscale preached from Joshua 1:1-9 and called the message "Courage to Lead: Facing Down the Fear Factor." He laid out three things you have to do to face down fear.

1. Face change with courage

Moses was gone. But as Pastor Lonnie put it, the mission wasn't gone, the promise wasn't gone, and God's presence wasn't gone. "Just because one season has ended doesn't mean God's purpose has ended."

Read that one twice. A lot of us, he said, get stuck trying to hold on to a season God has already closed. Joshua couldn't stand at Moses' grave forever. There was still a promise ahead. That doesn't mean the loss didn't hurt. It means learning to move forward while your heart is still healing.

And Joshua didn't come out of nowhere. He had been Moses' assistant, servant, and student. When twelve spies scouted the promised land, ten came back speaking fear. Joshua and Caleb came back speaking faith (Numbers 13 to 14). God had been preparing him the whole time. In Pastor Lonnie's words, "Before God will promote you publicly, he will develop you privately."

2. Follow the calling with confidence

Leadership will make you ask the hard questions. Can I do it? Am I ready? What if I fail? Will they even follow me? God didn't answer Joshua's fear with a long explanation. He answered it with a command, and He said it three times:

"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)

Here's the part that sets people free. God didn't call Joshua because Joshua had no fear. He called him because Joshua had already learned how to face down fear with faith. "Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is moving while you're afraid."

Fear says I can't. Faith says God can. Fear says I'm not qualified. Faith says, but God called me.

Joshua didn't need to be another Moses. He just needed to be Joshua. God isn't asking you to be somebody else, and He isn't asking you to know everything. He's asking you to be faithful.

3. Focus on God's commands with consistency

Right in the middle of all that courage, God tells Joshua to keep His word on his lips and meditate on it day and night (Joshua 1:8). Why? Because hard times make you want to quit praying. Pressure makes you want to stop believing. Disappointment makes you want to give up. Pastor Lonnie's answer is simple: keep praying, keep trusting, keep standing on God's word. What you build in private is what carries you in public.

A testimony from the classroom

Then he got personal. As a boy, he couldn't read, couldn't write, and couldn't spell his own first name. He was placed in a slow learner class, right across the hall from the honor students. His mother prayed over him late at night. His church laid hands on him. And one day, when his teacher told him to read a paragraph out loud, he heard God say, "Open up your mouth. Don't fear. I will be with you always."

That boy went on to take first place in a district speech contest, went from an F student to a straight A student, and kept going. Not because the fear disappeared. Because he said yes.

Live It This Week

•      Let go of the closed season. If you've been standing at the grave of something God has ended, ask Him what promise is still ahead.

•      Move while you're afraid. Walk while you're worried, serve while you're afraid, and lead while you're still learning.

•      Stay consistent when it's hard. Keep praying, keep trusting, and keep standing on God's word, especially on the days pressure makes you want to quit.

[PRAYER: PASTOR TO APPROVE]

Lord, thank You that when our seasons change, You don't. Where something has ended in our lives, help us trust that Your purpose hasn't. When fear rises, let faith rise higher. Give us the courage to move while we're afraid, and keep us in Your word day and night. Thank You that we never face our fear alone, because You are with us wherever we go. In Jesus' name, amen.

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