Be Strong & CourageousSample

Obedience & the Bible

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law... Do not turn from it... Meditate on it day and night.” – Joshua 1:7, 8 (NIV)

Courage isn’t just about facing people or difficult situations – it’s about being faithful when no one else is looking. It takes courage to obey God, especially in a world that says, “Do your own thing.” The Bible is a guide to us, an anchor, and it gives us hope. It is our Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth: B.I.B.L.E.

Put yourself in Joshua’s shoes for a moment. He’s just been made leader of an entire nation – a nation that had rebelled against their former leader and had rebelled against God. It would have been easy for Joshua to decide, “I’ll just give the people what they want, and life will be much simpler”. But that isn’t what God calls us to do. God points Joshua back to the timeless truths He gave to Moses because, even though people change, God’s word remains the same. Obedience often means we turn down the easy thing to do the God thing.

At Dreaming the Impossible, our summer youth festival, we love hearing stories and testimonies of young people like Layla, a 17-year-old who read the whole Bible in 110 days! She writes:

“I was sick of saying I believed in a book I’d never read.”

Layla recognised that if she wanted to live the life God has called her to, she had to place her trust in the words He has given us. At times, they may go against our instincts or what feels like the easier option, but doing life God’s way is always worth it.

Do you want to grow spiritually and learn to hear God’s voice? Keep reading His Word – it’s one of the top ways we can learn to hear from God. And not just reading it, but living it out. Meditate on it in the morning, first thing when you get up, and at night before you go to bed.

Question:

• Is there a Bible verse from this plan that you could memorise?
• Is there something that God has been saying to you today or this week that you know you need to obey and start doing what God has said?