Strong and Courageous

Joshua 1:9  Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

This was God's command to Joshua after Moses had died and Joshua was to take his place as  leader of God's people.  Joshua's job was to lead the Istraelites into the Promised Land.  Can you imagine how overwhelmed Joshua must have felt?  Here the leader he'd looked up to most of his adult life was gone, and now the burden of leading this group of spoiled, snotty Israelites fell directly on his shoulders.  I can only imagine how scared Joshua must have been.  Apparently, so could God because He repeated the  command  to be strong and courageous three times. (vs 6 and vs 7)

Ever been in a position where you feel overwhelmed by the load or task that you're about to undertake?  I know I have.  Back in the day when I was still teaching I felt overwhelmed more often than not.  So much to do.  So little time.  The weight of the world hung heavy on my heart - these students were entrusted into my care.  I was responsible for teaching them what they needed to learn.  All those subjects I needed to know; math, reading, writing, social studies, science.  All the papers to grade.  All the preparations to handle. And that before the kids even entered the room.  Everyday it seemed as if a month of work was crammed into that single day.  Yes, feeling overwhelmed as a teacher was an understatement. 

The first year I began teaching I came across a verse in the Bible that helped me find hope and strength even on the craziest and busiest of days.  The verse comes from 1 Chronicles 28:20.

David said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous and do the work.  Do not be afraid or discouraged for the Lord God, my God, is with you.  He will not fail you or forsake you until the work [of building the temple] is finished.

These were the words and wisdom of David as he was speaking about the most important task Solomon was to undertake during his reign; building a temple of the Lord - a house where God's glory would preside, a place of worship for the Israelites.  Why would David choose to share this wisdom with his son?  Mostly, I suppose, it was because David knew what it was like to be king. After all he'd reighned for forty years.  Not only that, but he recognized the huge task that Solomon had before him.

These words of wisdom that David shared with his son became so important to me that I copied them down and taped them to my desk.  Every morning before the bell rang, I would read the verse.  It was like a pep talk.  The phrase that stuck out to me most was "Do the work."  Notice it didn't say 'Wait on the Lord and he will do the work for you.'  No, this was a command, "Do the work." 

Whenever I'm struggling with depression, I remember this verse and, in particular, its command to do the work.  Even if I don't feel like it, even if I want to crawl back into bed and pull the covers over my head.  No matter the effort it takes to just begin the task this verse always encourages me, and, in some cases, gives me a kick in the butt.  Do the work don't be afraid or discouraged for the Lord your God is with you.

Do you ever feel overwhelmed? I don't care what you do for a living or what tasks you have to tackle, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that all of us, at what time or another, have been overwhelmingly overwhelmed.  So here's my encouragement to you . . . when you're facing a mountain of tasks that you just don't think you can handle remember these verses, "Be strong and Courageous and do the work."  And, even more importantly, take claim of the promise at the end of the verse.  " Do not be afraid or discouraged for the Lord God, . . . is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until the work  . . . is finished."

crazy thorns

Having a hard time coming up with something to write about today.  One thing I worry about with this blog is that I'll run out of things to write about.  I remember before I was diagnosed bipolar, I was able to write nonstop and felt like my creativity was really, well, bursting at the seams.  After I got the diagnosis and was put on medications, I feared that the creative side of my brain would be forever changed - if not ruined.

In fact, one night I said to my husband, "I don't think I'll be as good a writer as I was."  He related a story about a certain opera singer who lost a ton of weight.  When she slimmed down, she was asked if it affected her performance.  Her comment?  I have to work twice as hard now as I did then.    I guess that story struck a chord with me.  Writing maybe doesn't come as naturally for me anymore.  But I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing - I've just learned to work harder at it.  And in some ways I think I'm a better person because of it. 

On a slightly different note, I am really struggling with depression today.  I guess I should have seen it coming.  For the last few weeks I've felt really good (usually a sign that I'm a bit manic), but, inevitably the lows caught up with me and brought along my favorite friend - depression.  When I get depressed everything is more difficult for me.  For one thing, I don't even want to get out of bed.  It takes all the self-control I can muster just to stay on my feet and do what needs to be done.  If I could have my way, I'd take the mania over the depression anyday.  Being manic is so much more fun. 

Nope bipolar is no fun.  It is most definitely my "thorn in the flesh" - my greatest weakness.    The Apostle Paul addressed the issue of weaknesses in one of his letters to Corinth.  

(2 Corinthians 12:7)  To keep me from becoming conceited . . . there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 

Pretty depressing if you ask me.  But that wasn't the end of of things.  The letter goes on to say that Paul pleaded three times with the Lord to take the "thorn" away.  God's response?

(verse 9)  [H]e said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. 

So I guess I'll ask, what's your "thorn in the flesh?"  What keeps you from being all that you want to be?   Even though my thorn may be completely different from yours, I can  relate to some of the pain you go through. 

I don't know about you, but I hate my thorn.  I want to be free of the daily, weakly, monthly highs and lows that come along with my illness.  It's not easy to accept our thorns.  But, truth be told, I don't think we'll ever be completely rid of them until we reach our heavenly home.  So, in the meanwhile, we may as well go ahead and accept them;  accept them and believe that, in the grand scheme of things, they must serve a higher purpose . 
 
Leave you with this thought - from 2 Corinthians 4:7

[we] have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

No matter how much that stupid thorn may be irritating you, take heart.  God's power is made perfect in your weakness.