Strong and Courageous
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for
the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go" Josh. 1:9.

After lunch one Saturday, 26 teenagers sat down in the church youth
room. Many of them were jittery, for the afternoon's assignment was to canvass
a new subdivision and share their faith where the opportunity might arise.

Randy, their counselor, calmly helped them to verbalize their fears, which he
wrote on a sheet of newsprint taped to the wall:

• stage fright
• difficult questions
• accusations of being cult members
• people yelling
• doors slamming
• doubts that the Holy Spirit can use me
• being bitten by a dog

Randy then led the group in a study of Josh. 1:6-9. "With the military
campaign before him," he concluded, "Joshua could have made a list of fears
and dangers lots more frightening than those we face today. Yet God promised
that His presence would make Joshua strong, courageous and successful. The
Lord will do the same for us this afternoon."

"Even so," admitted Kristy, a high school freshman, "I wish I could wear a
mask so no one would know who I am."

In response Randy asked, "Tell me, gang, do the bad things on our list ever
actually happen?"

Brent, a senior and fourth-string player on the football team, answered,
"I've done six canvasses, and no one ever yelled or slammed the door. People
aren't unkind if you're polite to them."

Brent continued, "But three months ago, disaster struck. I knocked at a door and guess who
answered? Suzanne Walters, the 'Queen-of-the-Clique.' I about died! What a
relief when her mom came to the door and Suzanne stepped aside. Even though I
was really shook, I shared the Gospel with Mrs. Walters, and she seemed
interested. Even so, I was sure that Suzanne thought I was a dork."

"Hey," Kristy said, "you've convinced me to stay home this afternoon!"

Brent grinned. "There's more. A week or so later, I was in the school library, and
Suzanne sat down beside me and said, 'The other day, Brent, when you were
talking about Jesus and how he loves and forgives us, the certainty in your
voice was so real and sincere. I knew you had something I needed. Mom and I
decided to start going to church again. We've been back two Sundays now, and
the Bible is finally making sense to me. Thanks for having the courage to
come talk to my mom and me.'"

As Brent finished his story, the decibel level was zero. Amid the silence
Kristy pulled the list down from the wall and ripped it in two. "These
problems will hardly ever happen," she shouted, "because the Lord is with us
wherever we go. So let's be strong and courageous about sharing the greatest
news on earth."

With renewed boldness the 26 Christian teens spread out into the new
subdivision to claim the Lord's victories.

1. What challenges and dangers did Joshua face in Joshua 1? How do they
   compare to your witnessing dangers?
2. Study the pep talk the Lord gave in Josh. 1:6-9. Find the promises and
   apply them to your witnessing situations. How do the promises engender
   courage?
3. Discuss this definition. Courage is faith to trust God and to obey His
   commands.