Joshua discovered more than the values and benefits of having faith in God. He discovered the keys to cultivating courage– faith put to action. One thing Joshua did was to make a key decision in his heart. He settled this critical issue—to fear God and serve God in sincerity and in truth—or walk in integrity. Think about it. He had in effect settled several key issues in his heart. He chose to trust God and walk in total faithfulness; then serve God and not just himself.
Consider the hugely inspiring word of encouragement that Joshua gave to the children of Israel after having fought many battles to possess the land God had promised. We read it in Joshua 24:14-15.
Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Settling Key Issues Strengthens a Heart of Courage
Joshua wasn’t about merely worshiping God the way we think of it. He wasn’t just about doing stuff for God. He set his whole being—his heart, mind, and strength—on serving in sincerity and in truth; in other words, total integrity and commitment.
He also didn’t settle to serve God through ritual or out of mere obligation, when he felt emotionally high or when it would be convenient or socially acceptable, benefit him in some way or just to feel good about himself. He set his whole being in alignment with God—to walk and act to accomplish His purposes for His glory. Talk about commitment. Joshua embodied it.
To do so, however, Joshua had to settle another issue: put away all the other gods—the false gods man creates and seeks after. What false gods? Every sort of high, lofty and vain image mankind imagines in one’s mind and desires in one’s heart. Truly, such false images and gods will prove to be of little real value and leave a hollow feeling inside. In addition, they will serve as a distraction from other more important things in life.
Joshua repeated this message, not only exhorting the people to “put away the foreign gods which are among you” but with a challenge to “incline your heart to the Lord God of Israel.” In other words, set your heart towards God and keep it bent His way.
What a challenge; certainly difficult with all the persuasions and indulgences humanity offers us. But there are rewards—and far better than those offered by modern day credit cards and loyalty programs! There are the rewards that only God can offer; His love, His joy, and peace of soul. So He challenges us to walk in wisdom and pursue the more important and fulfilling things in life.
Walking in God’s Grace, Love, Wisdom and Power
David also cultivated a heart of courage. He had to battle huge external and internal conflicts to come to the place of experiencing God’s awesome power and grace in immensely rewarding ways. Through his struggles, he learned the wisdom of God to pass it on to his son Solomon, who ruled Israel through its glory days.
Solomon learned to cherish wisdom. It won him the favor and gifts of kings in his day. He shared with all humanity what he learned in the book of Proverbs.
It’s amazing how David and Solomon learned where wisdom begins to operate. I pray these simple words in Proverbs 1:7 inspire you to be catapulted to new heights!
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Wow. In this little nutshell, we see such a contrast! The Message version of the Bible expands upon this truth in a real simple way we can certainly relate to. It says how wisdom teaches us “how to live well and right, to understand what life means and where it’s going” and how it serves as a “manual for living, for learning what’s right and just and fair; to teach the inexperienced the ropes and give our young people a grasp on reality.”
Solomon expanded upon the contrast between wisdom and foolishness, and the fruit of walking in both, continuing through chapter one, verses 27-33.
27 When your terror comes like a storm,
And your destruction comes like a whirlwind,
When distress and anguish come upon you.
28 “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;
They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.
29 Because they hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the Lord,
30 They would have none of my counsel
And despised my every rebuke.
31 Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way,
And be filled to the full with their own fancies.
32 For the turning away of the simple will slay them,
And the complacency of fools will destroy them;
33 But whoever listens to me will dwell safely,
And will be secure, without fear of evil.”
Transformation Brings Courage
People always wonder why God doesn’t seem to care or hear our prayer. Can Solomon’s words of wisdom be any clearer? GOD DOES CARE! He offers to train us in His ways—which are grounded in grace and truth. Yes, He offers us His amazing grace; but it comes through faith—applying trusting dynamic living faith in God. And real trusting faith is grounded in the healthy and fruitful fear of the Lord.
So God offers to train us in His ways—which are grounded in grace and truth. Yes, He offers us His amazing grace; but it comes through faith—applying trusting dynamic living faith in God. And real trusting faith is grounded in the healthy and fruitful fear of the Lord.
God’s word is consistent. The apostle Paul sowed it earnestly in the hearts of believers to bring salvation and vibrant life to people in despair, lacking hope. He endeavored to see the life of God infused into people and inspire real transformation. His message was simple: all humanity could experience the fullness of God’s covenant promises and “the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ” (Romans 3:22).
He expounded on this theme in Galatians 3:14-26, revealing how the blessing of Abraham would be experienced through the power of the Holy Spirit through faith; and that all could experience vibrant life as a child of God through faith in Messiah Yeshua-Jesus. Paul further revealed that access to God’s amazing grace and the fullness of God’s love which transcends beyond worldly knowledge is obtained and experienced through faith (Ephesians 3:12-17).
Unraveling the Secret to Overcoming Faith
So why do we find it so hard to walk in faith and apply God’s truths in every day practical ways? This is the KEY question. I have found it takes the secret ingredient. David, the man after God’s own heart, discovered through all his trials that the secret is embracing and possessing the fear of the Lord. Hear his heart as he expresses it in Psalm 25:14.
The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him,
And He will show them His covenant.
David discovered that God welcomed those walking in the fear of the Lord into intimate communion. Through such relational fellowship, God reveals the mysteries and manifests the blessings of His covenant.
Yeshua-Jesus brought this concept forward and amplified its relevance. He spoke of the blessings of fruitfulness that would be realized through such communion and fellowship—or abiding—in an intimate relationship with Him.
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.…If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. (John 15:4-8)
David knew such intimate fellowship with God. It was how he discovered another key truth: the fear of the Lord issues in and inspires integrity.
The Fear of the Lord Fosters Real Integrity of Heart
David, the man after God’s own heart, learned that integrity was what God valued and sought to cultivate in the human heart. He learned how the fear of the Lord caused him to be willing to be transparent, open and honest before a very real and present God.
Vindicate me, O Lord,
For I have walked in my integrity.
I have also trusted in the Lord;
I shall not slip.
2 Examine me, O Lord, and prove me;
Try my mind and my heart.
(Psalm 26:1-2)By this I know that You are well pleased with me,
Because my enemy does not triumph over me.
12 As for me, You uphold me in my integrity,
And set me before Your face forever.
(Psalm 41:11-12)
David experienced the favor and protection of God that came from walking in the fear of the Lord and integrity. He learned that the fear of the Lord is a healthy fear that brings us to a conscious awareness of God’s very real-time presence.
The fear of the Lord also brings you beyond surface knowledge or book knowledge, beyond superstition or presumptuous belief. It is a knowing that God is sovereign; all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful and watching you! He knows your thoughts, your meditations, your desires and your prayers.
The fear of the Lord will pierce through your humanity and being to bring you to a strong sense of transparency—being transparent before God. Furthermore, it will lead you to being honest with God and honest with yourself; and real before people.
In addition, it will cause you to rightly discern and distinguish between what is right in your own eyes—even the world’s eyes—and right before God. It will pierce through your areas of darkness, revealing your greatest fears, blind ambitions and hidden agendas. How?
It will cause you to value what God values: virtues like integrity, humility, wisdom, love, sacrifice, faithfulness, diligence and accountability. It will be effective in producing what God refers to as the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-24).
I hope this sounds appetizing to you. Yes, it’s different than the kind of life the world presents. But it is more fulfilling and more satisfying. Because it’s real.
The Fear of the Lord Provides a Strong Bedrock Foundation for Faith
In Matthew 7:24-25 Yeshua-Jesus addressed the very essence of Biblical faith. He said, “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.”
He connected with the foundational essence of faith illustrated throughout the Hebrew Scriptures: hear and do. Again, He affirmed that faith is more than a belief system; but trusting God and acting upon God’s truth.
Yeshua-Jesus drilled deeper to the core of the issue by making a crucial point in Matthew 10:28-29. He declared, “do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
In other words, fear God, the sovereign Creator and Ruler of the Universe, who has ultimate authority over life and death. God alone holds our life in the balances. In God alone, you can place your ultimate trust. This was the point that Solomon made in declaring, “The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe” (Proverbs 29:25).
Why is the Fear of the Lord Such a Healthy Fear?
It brings you to realize that God is the ultimate authority over all types of consequences. It is what keeps you from thinking you can do things that God doesn’t see.
It also is what keeps you from having but-attitudes. What’s a but-attitude? It’s when you decide to have faith and trust God with anything but…but what? But what you want to keep control over or hold onto…those desires, images, ideas, and things we place an inappropriate measure of value on.
Now God does have grace on us. He knows our frame. He seeks, however, our undivided allegiance. Yes, it takes time for us to realize what this amounts to.
So we see a crucial point. While fear is destructive, the fear of the Lord is constructive and healthy. It builds and anchors strong faith—trust in God that strengthens us to walk and act courageously—in Him.
Allowing God’s Love to Help you Overcome Fear and Be Strong in Courage
Paul lived through more than his share of hardship, conflict and trials. He fought external and internal battles. I can relate to what he wrote in 2 Corinthians 7:5. “Outside were conflicts, inside were fears.”
He experienced God’s faithfulness, though, and learned how to live through conflict as an overcomer. He shared an inspiring word for all to embrace:
In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39)
God’s love allows you to be true and real to yourself and others. Fear restrains and constrains you. God wants the real you to be free and authentic. It takes “pealing the onion” to get to the deeper layers of truth; beneath and beyond the layers of protective shields we have allowed to build up to protect us from our deepest fears.
Can you place your trust in God—in the truth of His word and power of His Spirit? He will cultivate in you the fear of the Lord and integrity of heart—so you can become all He created you to be.
David and Paul—amongst millions of others—did.
Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare. (Psalm 40:4-5).
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you (Isaiah 26:3).
Wow. Perfect peace. Can you receive God’s perfect peace? Let these words and the fear of the Lord settle within you…and come into His perfect peace.
