Day 27: Courage for New Ground

Focus Area - REACH FORWARD
Stretching Toward the Future

Scriptures: Joshua 1:6-9 (NIV)

Reflection: Strength and courage for new ground comes from relying on the unfailing presence of God – who is empowering us to step boldly into what’s next.

Expanded Focus:
Change. Change is inevitable. Change is constant. Change can be hard—and sometimes even scary. So how do we handle change in a way that stretches us and allows us to reach forward into where God is leading? Let’s listen in as the Lord speaks to Joshua.

Joshua was stepping into a new season as the leader of Israel, charged with leading God’s people into the Promised Land. Moses was gone, and now Joshua was responsible for carrying out God’s promise. I can only imagine the thoughts that ran through his mind. Yet before Joshua could move forward, God met him with encouragement.

In just nine verses, God tells Joshua three times to “be strong and courageous.” Not once, not twice—three times. Because courage isn’t the absence of fear; it’s the presence of God. When God moves us into new spaces, His presence is what empowers us to walk in His purpose.

Joshua’s strength and courage were rooted in God’s promise. The same is true for us. Our confidence doesn’t come from what we can do, but from what God has already said He will do. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us—including stepping through the new doors and opportunities God is opening.

God also instructed Joshua on how to be strong and very courageous. God instructed him to stay grounded in His Word—to meditate on it day and night and live by it. When we consistently feed on God’s Word, it becomes our first response rather than our last resort. His Word strengthens us when the unfamiliar feels overwhelming. God’s word gives us courage when we begin to doubt because we’ve lost focus on the God who has brought us to it.

Lastly, we can be strong and courageous because God commands it—and because He is with us wherever we go. The same God who was with us in the familiar will meet us in the new. God is calling us to cross over boldly. He is not just the God of what was—He is the God of now and the God of what’s to come. So, take courage. Step forward. God is doing a new thing, and He wants you to be part of it.

Questions to Consider:

1. In what areas of your life do you need to be encouraged to “be strong and courageous” today?
2. What “new ground” is God calling you to step into, and how can you lean into His strength and presence to move with courage?
3. How can you keep God’s Word at the center of your heart so that it becomes your first response when God is moving you into new spaces?