8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.
I came across an email an hour-ish ago that really discouraged me and stressed me out a little. As I was letting myself get boggled down with worry, this verse popped into my head. This verse comes with quite some history.
I was first reacquainted and familiarized with this verse freshman year, Spring quarter, finals week. I felt really discouraged with a final grade I received in a class that I had studied extremely hard for. A certain friend and dear brother in Christ, who I had studied all night with for the final saw the discouraged me, came into the big study lounge of Covel and whispered "look up Joshua 1:9". Through the thick stale silence, all I could make out was "look up Josh...". So I opened up Facebook in a new tab and gave him a perplexed look, but he took my laptop, typed "Joshua 1:9" into the Google search bar, clicked on the first result link, then left the room to return to his studies. I read the verse and fell just a bit speechless. I had never meditated on that verse before. I had always thought that feeling discouraged was a natural, harmless emotion that was all but the cycle of life's disappointments. Never had I realized that God commands us not to be terrified or discouraged and that by doing so we sin against him. How encouraging it was at that moment.
God works in miraculous, even humorous, ways. Let me fill you in on how I met this brother. I met him Freshman year zero week at the Lambda house. The week where every freshman lives it up at parties. Long story short, our first impressions of each other were 'party girl' and 'Lambda boy'. We by no means were we ambassadors of our Lord Jesus Christ, but still God used us in our most wretched form. I don't recall how we remet and discovered that we were both believed in the same Savior; I believe it was by divine appointment. God can take our wrong decisions and turn it into something good. I was so encouraged by his care in redirecting me back to the Word that finals week. Honestly, I thank God for brothers and sisters that continually encourage and point me back to the Cross. It is so encouraging to see my dear brother and friend grow in the ministry CCM. Also thinking back, there were plenty of other times where he has encouraged me to strive for good throughout the year that I have known him, and I give all the praise and glory to God above.
P.S.- I've now got this verse memorized :) yay!
I came across an email an hour-ish ago that really discouraged me and stressed me out a little. As I was letting myself get boggled down with worry, this verse popped into my head. This verse comes with quite some history.
I was first reacquainted and familiarized with this verse freshman year, Spring quarter, finals week. I felt really discouraged with a final grade I received in a class that I had studied extremely hard for. A certain friend and dear brother in Christ, who I had studied all night with for the final saw the discouraged me, came into the big study lounge of Covel and whispered "look up Joshua 1:9". Through the thick stale silence, all I could make out was "look up Josh...". So I opened up Facebook in a new tab and gave him a perplexed look, but he took my laptop, typed "Joshua 1:9" into the Google search bar, clicked on the first result link, then left the room to return to his studies. I read the verse and fell just a bit speechless. I had never meditated on that verse before. I had always thought that feeling discouraged was a natural, harmless emotion that was all but the cycle of life's disappointments. Never had I realized that God commands us not to be terrified or discouraged and that by doing so we sin against him. How encouraging it was at that moment.
God works in miraculous, even humorous, ways. Let me fill you in on how I met this brother. I met him Freshman year zero week at the Lambda house. The week where every freshman lives it up at parties. Long story short, our first impressions of each other were 'party girl' and 'Lambda boy'. We by no means were we ambassadors of our Lord Jesus Christ, but still God used us in our most wretched form. I don't recall how we remet and discovered that we were both believed in the same Savior; I believe it was by divine appointment. God can take our wrong decisions and turn it into something good. I was so encouraged by his care in redirecting me back to the Word that finals week. Honestly, I thank God for brothers and sisters that continually encourage and point me back to the Cross. It is so encouraging to see my dear brother and friend grow in the ministry CCM. Also thinking back, there were plenty of other times where he has encouraged me to strive for good throughout the year that I have known him, and I give all the praise and glory to God above.
P.S.- I've now got this verse memorized :) yay!
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