Astonishing Courage

Do you know that saying, “Birds of a feather flock together?” You don’t need a PhD or a master's degree to observe that human beings like to fit in with others. We’re not the most comfortable when we’re going against the grain. If you’re building a community, joining a church, or simply seeking to be known, ‘flocking’ together is a great path to take. However, if you’re looking to be courageous, you’re likely going to be taking some form of risk, which means that you might be stepping out by yourself. 

That can be difficult and certainly daunting, but here’s the great news for us today. When we are courageous in the Lord, we are never truly alone. He is with us. He strengthens, comforts, and rewards us on the other side of our courage.

In Joshua chapter 1, four times in 18 verses, we see God command Joshua and the Israelites to “be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9, 18). It’s clear that if God’s people are going to cross over into God’s land, stepping into His promises and realizing their destiny, they will need astonishing courage, which makes Joshua chapter two so much more poignant and purposeful.

You would think that right after God puts this big emphasis on courage, we’d see some heroic leader step up, chest puffed out, sword in hand, courageously conquering whatever risks or hardships lay before them. You know the type, right? The CEO who has the perfect morning routine? The mom who has the perfect kids and the successful side hustle? The person who we all look at and say, “Well, of course they can be courageous! Just look at them. They’re wired for it.”

But that’s not what God does. In fact, He goes pretty much as far opposite as possible. Look at how Joshua chapter 2 begins:

Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.

Aha! Look there at the two spies — those must be God’s chosen examples of courage! But if you keep reading, you’ll see that the story isn’t actually about the spies. It’s about Rahab — a woman with a background of disrepute. The last person whom the Israelites would have thought would be a paragon of courage. 

If you keep reading in Joshua 2:2-7, Rahab hides the spies in her house, and when the King questions her, commanding her to bring forward the spies, she courageously deceives him, distracting the other soldiers and keeping the men of God hidden. She takes a massive risk, putting herself and her family in danger. Why? Look at verses 8-10. 

“Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt,”

She was willing to take a courageous risk because she knew that the Israelites were led by an all-powerful, promise-keeping God. I wonder if the same can be true for you this week.

We prayed yesterday that God would help us see and know what He wants us to be courageous with. We prayed that we would not bow before anything in this world but entrust ourselves fully to God. Today, let’s add to that prayer, asking that God would gently prod our hearts to believe that when we are willing to courageously step out in faith, He is strong enough to sustain us.

Even though courage requires taking a risk, God has an unmatched track record of coming through for His people. Rahab knew this, and you can too.

God, thank you that you’ve always come through for your sons and daughters. Help me to trust that if I am willing to risk being courageous, that You will meet me in the unknown with peace and confidence.