Don't be timid

Joshua 1:9 (verse 24 of 145)

“Haven’t I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged. GOD, your God, is with you every step you take.”

The verse above is God speaking directly to Joshua. The Israelites are camped on the bank of the River Jordan, poised to attack the cities on the other side, themselves at the brink of an unknown, terrifying future. The leader they trusted, Moses, has just died, and Joshua’s leadership abilities are as yet untested. It’s a scary time.

In other Bible translations, the phrase in the middle is “Don’t be afraid.” But in The Message, Eugene Peterson translates it as “Don’t be timid.” The word “timid” has a slightly different connotation than afraid. “Don’t be timid” suggests something along the lines of “don’t be satisfied with small measures” or “don’t be afraid to take risks.”

This verse brought up a lot for me, especially the part about don’t get discouraged, because I think discouragement is one of the great impediments to living the lives God intends for us. Discouragement can grow to be so pervasive, so powerful that I once read in a book called Holy Sweat by author Tim Hansel, that it’s one of the trusty tools in the toolbox of the forces that oppose Life. They dust it off whenever they need to keep things going their way— where Life is dragged down, made to be a burden, rather than a miraculous gift and source of joy.

This morning, when I went to find that section in Hansel’s book, I could not locate it. Instead, I turned to a page which had a sheaf of notes I’d made in November 2020. I’d called a friend of mine, a pastor, that day because I was worried about the outcome of the election. Maybe it was just a coincidence that I found those notes this morning. But I also like the saying, “Coincidence is God’s way of getting our attention.”

Here are notes from our conversation that I wrote down:

• We’re held together by God’s love—not our political opinions

• Lean into vulnerability

• Treat each other in a way that we are all beloved—all part of God’s beloved family

• Sit with those who are oppressed, the outcasts

• There’s no shortage of people on the outside that we can be with

• We walk with people, ours is a ministry of presence

• Choose to spend enough time in relationship that we love one another

On the page I marked with those, Hansel just happens to quote Eugene Peterson talking about fear of failure as a force that works against living a life of faith. “The life of faith,” Peterson says, “encourages the risk taking that frequently results in failure, for it encourages human ventures into crisis and the unknown.”

When God tells Joshua, “Don’t be timid,” God might have said, “Don’t be afraid to take the risks necessary to live the life I intend for you and for my people. Don’t let discouragement take hold. I’ll be with you every step. Look for the signs that I am with you. Watch for the ways I work—ways that are higher than your ways—so you don’t get discouraged.”

One more thing: Immediately after God gives his pep talk to Joshua and Joshua in turn gives one to the Israelites, Joshua sends two spies into Jericho who take shelter with a woman named Rehab, a prostitute. At great personal risk, Rehab hides the men, instructs them how to escape, and acknowledges that God is with Israel. When Jericho falls, Joshua himself gives the orders to rescue Rehab and her family. I love that Rehab is called by name in the Bible. I love her faith example, a woman in a time of fear whose actions were the opposite of timid.

Photo by Silje Roseneng on Unsplash