Resource Details

Passage: Joshua 3:2-17
Points To Remember:

• Courage is the ability to make the hard, right choice at a great personal cost. 
• Improved thinking leads to increased courage.

Three Focuses of a Courage That Moves:

1. Focus on obedience over obstacles.

Joshua 3:2–3 (ESV)  
"At the end of three days the officers went through the camp and commanded the people, 'As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it.'"

• Obsessing over obstacles makes me miss life's greatest opportunities.

• What instruction from God am I ignoring?

ACTION PLAN: Spend some time reflecting on different areas of your life (physically, financially, vocationally, emotionally, spiritually) and ask God if there are any areas where He is calling you. Is there anything that you have been ignoring? Pray for direction and clarity with where God is leading you.

2. Focus on direction over perfection.

Joshua 3:7–8 (NLT)  
"The Lord told Joshua, 'Today I will begin to make you a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites. They will know that I am with you, just as I was with Moses. Give this command to the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant: "When you reach the banks of the Jordan River, take a few steps into the river and stop there." ' "

• It's not the size of the step that matters, it's the direction.
• To change a pattern I must embrace a process.
• Which direction am I headed?

ACTION PLAN: Take the small step of starting your day with prayer each morning. Before you take your first step of the day, spend even just 5 minutes on your knees praying for God to direct your steps.

3. Focus on movementovermiracles.

Joshua 3:14–17 (NLT) 
"So the people left the camp to cross the Jordan, and the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them. It was the harvest season, and the Jordan was overflowing its banks. But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river's edge, the water above that point began backing up a great distance away at a town called Adam, which is near Zarethan. And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea until the riverbed was dry. Then all the people crossed over near the town of Jericho. Meanwhile, the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Lord's Covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed as the people passed by. They waited there until the whole nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan on dry ground."

I shouldn't expect a miracle from God when he's expecting movement from me.
 
Where do I need to get moving?

ACTION PLAN: God wants to bless your life with a miracle, but He wants our cooperation to get there. Make a list of the things you are hoping God will do in and through your life. Pray over this list and ask for God to show you one small step you can take to start moving toward the miracle.