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“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 central theme of this song is God’s direct command to His servant: *“Be strong and courageous.”* It is not a suggestion. It is not an encouragement only. It is a command anchored in a divine promise: “for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
The Word of God joins together two essential truths:
1. A command: “Be strong and courageous… do not be afraid or discouraged.”
2. A covenant reality: “The Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
In other words, the presence of God is the basis for the courage of the believer. Many seek courage by self-effort, positive thinking, or emotions. Scripture roots courage in God Himself—who He is, what He has spoken, and where He is in relation to His people.
The song repeats these phrases again and again, allowing the Word to penetrate the heart:
“Be strong and courageous… the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
This is spiritual warfare in song form. It renews the mind, confronts fear, and brings the believer into agreement with God’s command.
The setting is Joshua chapter 1. Moses, the servant of the Lord, has died. The greatest human leader Israel had known has been removed. The people stand at the border of the Promised Land. Behind them lies forty years of wandering. Before them lies warfare, confrontation with giants, fortified cities, and nations stronger than themselves.
Joshua is not entering a holiday. He is entering a campaign of conquest.
It is the Lord Himself speaking to Joshua: “Have I not commanded you?” (Joshua 1:9). These are not the words of a prophet to Joshua. They are the direct, personal words of God.
Joshua is the successor of Moses, the one chosen to lead Israel into the inheritance God promised their fathers. He has been Moses’ assistant, a man acquainted with warfare (Exodus 17:9-13), a man who had earlier brought a good report of the land (Numbers 14:6-9). Yet, in spite of his past faithfulness, God knows Joshua still needs a fresh command and a fresh commission.
Israel stands at the Jordan River. On the other side lies the land of promise—Canaan—but it is not empty. It is occupied. To take their inheritance, they must fight. They must break through fear, unbelief, and intimidation.
In this context, God speaks three times:
Additionally, in Joshua 1:7, God links this courage to obedience to the law:
“Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, *that you may be successful wherever you go*.”
So we see:
The lyrics of the song capture these two key verses: Joshua 1:9 and Joshua 1:7. They place us where Joshua stood—called to move forward into God’s purposes, facing real opposition, yet held by a sure promise: “The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Let us look at two key Hebrew words from Joshua 1:9 and 1:7: “Be strong” and “courageous.”
### 1. “Be strong” – *chazaq* (חָזַק)
The verb “be strong” is chazaq. It does not merely mean “feel strong” or “have a strong personality.” It carries the sense of:
In other words, strength in this context is not passive. It is an act of the will in response to God’s word. God says, “Be strong”—that is, “Take hold of My promise, take hold of My command, do not let it go.”
This means that biblical strength is not first a feeling. It is a decision to align with God’s Word rather than circumstances, fear, or human opinion.
### 2. “Courageous” – *’amats* (אָמַץ)
The word “courageous” is ’amats. It means:
It emphasizes inner resolve and bold action. It is not merely absence of fear; it is a forward-moving determination in spite of fear.
So when God says to Joshua:
> “Be strong and courageous…”
He is saying: “Take firm hold; be resolute; set your will to obey and advance with bold, determined action.”
Now notice how this deepens the lyrics:
> “Be strong and courageous—
> do not be afraid or discouraged.
> The Lord your God is with you
> wherever you go.”
The song is not simply soothing. It is a military charge sung gently. It is God saying: “Take hold. Stand firm. Advance. Do not yield your mind to fear or your heart to discouragement. My presence with you is the ground of your boldness.”
### Linked Word in Joshua 1:7 – “Be careful to obey”
In Joshua 1:7 we read:
> “Be careful to obey all the law…”
The phrase “be careful” translates a form of the Hebrew shamar (שָׁמַר), meaning:
Courage and obedience are not separate. To be strong and courageous is to guard the Word, to keep it carefully, and to refuse to deviate “to the right or to the left.”
The believer’s courage is not a wild, reckless spirit. It is a Word-governed courage—bold yet obedient, strong yet submitted.
Let us walk through the central lines and connect them with Scripture.
### A. “Have I not commanded you?”
Joshua 1:9 begins with this question. God reminds Joshua: this is not a suggestion; it is a *command*. The authority behind the command is the authority of God Himself.
Theologically, this is critical: courage here is obedience. Fear and discouragement, when they cause us to disobey, are not just emotional states; they are forms of rebellion against God’s known will.
We see this in Numbers 13–14. The Israelites refused to enter the land because of fear and unbelief:
God judged that generation, not merely for “being afraid,” but for refusing to believe His word (Numbers 14:11). Fear became the doorway to unbelief; unbelief became disobedience.
So when the song echoes,
> “Have I not commanded you?”
it confronts the listener: this call to courage is not optional. God commands His people to trust Him.
### B. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged”
Notice the double negative: do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
Both work to paralyze obedience. They are among Satan’s chief weapons to stop God’s people from entering their inheritance.
Scripture repeatedly confronts fear:
Fear is often a spirit. Discouragement can be a spiritual oppression. They must be resisted, not tolerated. When God says, “Do not be afraid,” He is not asking us to suppress emotion by willpower. He is calling us to replace fear with trust in His presence and His Word.
The repetition in the song:
> “Be strong and courageous—
> do not be afraid or discouraged…”
is like a spiritual declaration. As we sing it, we train our souls to align with God’s command.
### C. “For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go”
This is the ground of everything. The courage of the believer is not based on:
It is based on Emmanuel—God with us.
God had already said to Moses:
> “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Exodus 33:14)
And to Joshua:
> “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Joshua 1:5)
In the New Testament, this same promise is transferred to all believers:
“God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’
So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?’”
Notice the pattern: God has said… so we say.
His promise calls forth our proclamation.
When the song repeats:
> “The Lord your God is with you
> wherever you go.”
it is doing exactly what Hebrews 13 models: it puts God’s promise into the believer’s mouth as a confession.
This is spiritual warfare. Revelation 12:11 tells us:
> “They triumphed over him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony…”
The promise “God is with me wherever I go” must become your testimony, not just your theology.
### D. “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law…”
Here Joshua 1:7 adds an intensifier: very courageous. Why?
Because the greatest test of courage is not facing external enemies. It is remaining faithful to God’s Word when everything around you pressures compromise.
God links “very courageous” with:
> “Be careful to obey all the law… do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.”
To be “very courageous” is:
This aligns with Psalm 1:1–3:
> Blessed is the one…
> whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
> and who meditates on his law day and night.
> That person is like a tree planted by streams of water…
> whatever they do prospers.
True success in God’s eyes is linked to Word-centered obedience. Joshua’s “success wherever you go” (Joshua 1:7–8) anticipates New Testament language of walking “in the Spirit” and “in the will of God” (Romans 8:4; Ephesians 5:17–18).
So when the song sings:
> “Be strong and very courageous.
> Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you;
> do not turn from it to the right or to the left,
> that you may be successful wherever you go.”
it is teaching a crucial theological truth:
**Courage without obedience becomes presumption.
Obedience without courage becomes compromise.
God requires both.**
### E. Spiritual Realities Behind the Text
1. The Promised Land is a type of our spiritual inheritance in Christ.
Ephesians 1:3–11 describes “every spiritual blessing in Christ,” including adoption, redemption, authority, and inheritance. Yet, like Israel, believers must fight to enter and occupy what is promised (Ephesians 6:10–13).
2. The enemies in Canaan picture spiritual opposition.
Principalities, powers, and spiritual hosts of wickedness (Ephesians 6:12) resist the believer’s progress. Fear and discouragement are strategic weapons to stop us at the border of our inheritance.
3. God’s presence is now within us by the Holy Spirit.
Under the New Covenant, God not only goes with us, He dwells in us:
Therefore, the promise “I am with you wherever you go” is intensified:
The One who commands courage is the One who empowers courage from within.
4. The Word and the Spirit work together.
Joshua is commanded to meditate on the law day and night (Joshua 1:8). In the New Covenant, we walk “in the Spirit” and are transformed as the Word renews our minds (Romans 12:2). The Spirit strengthens; the Word directs. Separating them leads either to dead formalism or ungoverned zeal.
The song, by repeating Scripture, yields our minds and mouths to the authority of the Word, while the presence of the Spirit applies that Word to fear, anxiety, and doubt.
How do we move from a song we sing to a life we live? Let us consider four practical steps that align with this passage.
### 1. Acknowledge the Command, Not Just the Comfort
First, we must recognize that “Be strong and courageous” is a command.
Do not relate to this text merely as a soothing word for hard days. It is that, but it is more. It is a military order from the Captain of our salvation (Hebrews 2:10).
You might say aloud:
> “Lord, You have commanded me to be strong and courageous. I repent for treating fear and discouragement as acceptable masters in my life.”
Bring your fear and discouragement into the light as disobedience, not identity. Do not say, “I am a fearful person.” Scripture does not define you that way. Say, “I have yielded to fear, but God commands me to be strong and courageous.”
### 2. Anchor Your Courage in God’s Presence
Second, we must consciously base our courage on God’s unchanging presence, not our feelings.
Take time daily to proclaim verses like:
Say them aloud until your inner conversation changes. Many believers allow the voice of fear to dominate their inner dialogue. You must replace it with the voice of God’s Word.
When you face a situation that triggers anxiety—an interview, a confrontation, a ministry step, a temptation—say under your breath or quietly in your heart:
> “The Lord my God is with me wherever I go. I will be strong and courageous.”
This is not mental technique. It is spiritual alignment with reality.
### 3. Commit to Word-Governed Obedience
Third, we must link courage to obedience to Scripture, as Joshua 1:7–8 does.
Areas that often require courage to obey:
When obedience looks costly, remember:
The safest place in the universe is the center of God’s will, not the center of human approval.
Ask the Holy Spirit daily:
> “Show me where I am turning to the right or to the left. Give me grace to walk straight in Your Word.”
### 4. Confront Fear and Discouragement as Spiritual Enemies
Fourth, we must treat fear and discouragement as enemies to be resisted, not moods to be indulged.
James 4:7 says:
> “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
You can pray something like this:
> “In the name of Jesus, I refuse the spirit of fear. I reject discouragement. They do not come from God. I receive the Spirit of power, love, and a sound mind.”
Then act in line with your declaration. Take the step you have been avoiding. Initiate the conversation. Start the assignment. The action itself reinforces the victory over fear.
### Proclamation of Faith
Speak this out slowly and deliberately. Let your own ears hear your mouth agree with God’s Word:
> I declare that the Lord is my God.
> He has commanded me to be strong and courageous.
> I will not be afraid, and I will not be discouraged.
> For the Lord my God is with me wherever I go.
> As He was with Moses and Joshua, so He is with me in Christ.
> He will never leave me nor forsake me.
> I choose to be strong and very courageous,
> to be careful to obey His Word,
> not turning to the right or to the left.
> His Word will not depart from my mouth;
> I will meditate on it day and night.
> By His grace, I will do what He has commanded.
> And He will make my way successful in His purpose.
> The Lord is my helper; I will not fear.
> In Jesus’ name, amen.
### Prayer
Lord God of Joshua,
You are the same yesterday, today, and forever.
You commanded Your servant to be strong and courageous because You were with him.
Today I stand before You and confess my tendency to yield to fear and discouragement.
I repent for believing the threats of the enemy more than Your promises.
Holy Spirit, Spirit of power, love, and a sound mind,
fill me afresh.
Write Your Word on my heart.
Strengthen my will to obey.
Open my eyes to see that the Lord my God is with me wherever I go—
in my home, in my work, in my battles, in my weaknesses.
I ask You, Lord, drive out the spirit of fear from my life.
Break the hold of discouragement and heaviness.
Teach me to keep Your Word, not turning to the right or to the left.
Lead me into the inheritance You have prepared for me in Christ.
From this day, by Your grace,
I choose to be strong and courageous,
for You are with me.
In the mighty name of Jesus,
Amen.
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