No longer 'irresolute'

"Strength! Courage! Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take.” (Joshua 1:9)

I was reminded of this verse today as I listened to that song by Hillsong Worship, "Never Walk Alone". The chorus speaks volumes: I have never walked alone; I’ve never been abandoned. You are my inheritance. You are my strength and shield; and I have confidence. You go before me; You’re my deliverer - I know I never walk alone. Never walked alone - not gonna start now. Never abandoned - why should I think I might be left behind now? I have an inheritance beyond my imagining - not on this earth, but into all of eternity. My strength won't falter - my protector is at my side. I can stand assured because if God is with me, nothing (and I mean nothing) is gonna get me down!

Too many times we walk what I will refer to as a kind of 'incongruent' life. We are kind of timid when we should be standing strong. We get down on ourselves and heap guilt loads upon our shoulders when we should be letting it go. We are afraid to move forward, always looking backward at the myriad of failures and fear we will never break free from them. Let's take a close look at that passage again - God - YOUR GOD - is with YOU every step you take. Not some of them, only when he feels like it, and if we are 'good enough' to deserve his presence with us - but EACH step we take! Most think of timidity as being a little 'bashful' or 'apprehensive', but did you realize being timid also means we are being intimidated and a bit 'irresolute' in our walk?

As we begin the new year, we have been looking at the concept of these 'resolutions' we make that are sometimes a little 'half-hearted' or 'half-baked'. We want things to be different, but we aren't really sure how it will ever happen. We are 'able' because God is our enabler. We are 'strong' because God is the replacement to our human strength. We are 'confident' because God NEVER leaves or forsakes us - even when we don't 'feel' him there, he hasn't stepped away. We become 'resolute' in our passion of following Jesus one step at a time. We don't do it all at once. Begin by reading a verse a day for a week, then maybe two a day the next week, and so on. You don't read all 66 books in one day! You add precept to precept, teaching to teaching, step one to step two. Just sayin!