Do Not Be Frightened or Dismayed

One of my favorite pieces of Scripture is God's assurance to Joshua as young Josh takes the mantle of Moses and prepares to lead the people into the Promised Land.  I'm sure Josh felt a lot of things, among them fear and dismay.  Yet in the first 9 verses of Joshua chapter 1, God tells him three times to be "strong and courageous" (vv6, 7, & 9).  The final time attaches the words from the title of this post as well as a promise of God's abiding presence. 

Frightened and dismayed.  If your life is anything like mine, it has a tendency to get both frightening and dismaying at times.  Closing on a house is the current dismay for me.  It'll pass, I know.  But frustration dragging out for 3 months weighs one down.  Of course, it could be much smaller and simpler:  the ocular celulitis Jack had last week.  It just looked like his eye was bruised, but apparently it's a very dangerous infection.  Jack was the personification of frightened and dismayed when he got antibiotic shots at the doctor's 2 days in a row.

You've got your own life and your own things that are frightening and dismaying.  You don't need to borrow mine.

God's commandment to "Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed" could almost be rendered: "Don't let this crap overwhelm you."  God knows it's going to be tough, that's why this commandment is followed by "for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." 

To you, to me, to anyone who struggles to be strong and courageous in the face of a life that can be scary and distressing, hear these words:  Don't let this crap overwhelm you.  You're not alone!  It's OK to ask for help; from God and from each other.