Be Strong And Courageous

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.” These words were spoken to Joshua at a moment of overwhelming responsibility. Moses was gone, the wilderness years were ending, and the Promised Land stood ahead, along with battles, uncertainty, and challenges far greater than Joshua could overcome in his own strength.

Notice God didn't tell Joshua to be strong because the path would be easy. He commanded courage because His presence would go with him.

Biblical courage isn't the absence of fear, but obedience in the presence of fear. It's choosing to trust God when the future is unclear, circumstances are overwhelming, and your own strength feels insufficient.

The Lion of Judah still goes before His people today. He remains sovereign over every battle, every uncertainty, every closed door, and every impossible situation in your life. Whatever lies in front of you today, remember the rest of the verse: “Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Be strong and courageous.

- David Delfeld

Provided by "I Am With You Always"

A Perfect Savior

The story of Jesus walking on water is often preached
as a lesson about having more faith.

Try harder.

Be braver.

Step out of the boat.

But when you slow down and really look at the story,
something deeper begins to appear.

This miracle is not primarily about Peter.

It is about Jesus.

The disciples were alone in the middle of a storm.
The wind was violent.
The waves were crashing against the boat.
These were experienced fishermen,
yet Scripture says they were terrified.

And here is something important many people miss.

They were in that storm because Jesus told them to get into the boat.

The storm was not proof God had abandoned them.

They were exactly where Jesus sent them.

Then in the middle of darkness and fear,
Jesus came walking toward them on the water.

Think about that.

The very thing threatening the disciples was beneath His feet.

The storm that felt overwhelming to them
was under complete authority to Him.

Jesus did not remove the waves before approaching them.

He walked on top of them.

And maybe that is one of the greatest revelations in the entire story.

Jesus is not intimidated by what terrifies you.

Fear caused the disciples to misinterpret His presence.
They thought He was a ghost. But immediately Jesus spoke.

“Take courage. It is I. Do not be afraid.”

In the original language, His words echo the divine name of God Himself.

“I AM.”

Jesus Wants You To Know...

"I give strength to My people; I bless My people with Peace. 'My people' are all those who trust Me as their Savior-God. My death on the cross for your sins was sufficient to provide everlasting Life because I am truly God. So rest assured that the One who provides eternal Life will also give you strength."

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“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” - John 3:16

- "Jesus Today" by Sarah Young

My Praise Is A Weapon

I lift my voice in victory before the walls even move.

Lord, I celebrate Your power today, knowing that my praise is a weapon that clears the way for Your glory.

My heart trusts in Your promises, and I find such gladness in Your presence.

Father, You are my strength and my song.

I shout to You with cries of joy because
the victory is already mine in You.

I choose to delight in Your goodness right now.

Psalm 47:1
Provided by "Word of Encouragement"

Faith Is...

We have this picture of the Super Christian who never doubts and never worries. We think faith looks like a superhero standing on a mountain with a chest full of confidence. So when we feel anxiety or dread, we think, I must not have enough faith

But that is a lie. The heroes of the Bible were not fearless; they were obedient. Moses stuttered. Gideon hid in a hole. Esther was terrified to go before the king. Even Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane, sweat drops of blood because of the weight of what was coming.

​Faith is not about how calm you feel. It is about who you follow. It is the grit to say, God, I am terrified of this next step, but I am going to take it because You said so. The fear doesn't invalidate the faith. In fact, trusting God when you are scared is the deepest kind of faith there is.

​So stop beating yourself up for being human. Let your hands shake. Just don't let your feet stop.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid... for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:9

Provided by "Divine Insight"

Faith and Perseverance

Your faith and perseverance through intense trials are truly incredible. I can only imagine how heavy this season must feel. Fighting battles you never asked for. Carrying burdens that feel unbearable. Waking up each day knowing you still have to show up for people who need you, even when you feel worn down to your core. And yet, despite everything pressing against you, you are still standing.

That matters more than you realize.

There are seasons where survival itself is an act of courage. Where simply staying faithful, staying kind, staying present takes more strength than anyone else can see. You may not feel strong. You may feel stretched thin, exhausted, and unsure how much longer you can keep going. But heaven sees what you carry. God sees the weight you hold and the tears you hide and the prayers you whisper when words are hard to find.

You did not choose this trial, but you chose to trust God in it. You did not ask for this pain, but you are allowing God to meet you in the middle of it. That is not weakness. That is faith in its rawest, most honest form. Faith that shows up even when the outcome is uncertain. Faith that keeps walking even when the road feels endless.

Your perseverance is not accidental. It is evidence that God’s hand is steady on your life. Evidence that you are being sustained in ways you cannot fully see yet. God is strengthening you day by day, breath by breath. Even on the days when all you can do is keep going, that is enough.

You are not failing because you feel tired. You are not falling behind because you need rest. You are human, and you are held. God is not disappointed in you for struggling. God is near you in the struggle.

So keep standing. Keep trusting. Keep bringing your honest heart before God. This season does not define you, but it is shaping you. And one day, you will look back and see that you were never carrying this alone.

Your endurance is a testimony. Your faith is seen. And God is not finished with your story.

- Ellie Mont

Quote: C.S. Lewis

Lord, I'm learning that relying on You has to begin all over again every day, that yesterday's faith doesn't automatically carry me through today.

Each morning I wake up with a choice, to depend on You or to fall back into the illusion that I can handle life on my own, and I confess how easily I forget.

Teach me that relying on You isn't a one-time decision but a daily surrender, a constant returning to the truth that I need You as much today as I did yesterday and will tomorrow.

Help me start each morning by acknowledging my need for You, by consciously choosing dependence over independence, by asking for Your strength before I try to manufacture my own.

Remind me that this isn't failure or weakness, it's the rhythm of faith, that even the most mature believers have to wake up and choose to lean on You all over again.

Give me grace for the days I forget and try to go it alone, patience with myself as I learn this daily practice of surrender, and wisdom to recognize when I've drifted back into self-reliance.

Let relying on You become as natural as breathing, a daily habit that shapes every hour, every decision, every moment, knowing that I will always need You and that's exactly how You designed it to be.

Amen.

Provided by "Faithful Grace"

Lord Help Me..

There are days when strength runs out… and all you can do is whisper, “Lord, help me.”

And that whisper is enough.

My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness. - 2 Corinthians 12:9

God isn’t asking for perfection,

He’s asking for surrender.

Let Him be strong where you can’t.

- Provided by "Word Of Encouragement"

Motivational: "Find Strength In God's Word"

Jesus Wants You To Know...

"When your plans are messed up, talk to Me about it. Talking with Me blesses you and strengthens our friendship. Also, I take the sting out of your disappointment by making something good come of it. So you can be joyful, even when things are going wrong. But it takes practice."

"But more than that, I count everything as loss compared to the priceless privilege and supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord [and of growing more deeply and thoroughly acquainted with Him - a joy unequaled]. For His sake I have lost everything, and I consider it all garbage, so that I may gain Christ," - Philippians 3:8 (AMP)

- "Jesus Calling for Kids" by Sarah Young

You Don't Have To Hold It All Together

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses,
so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)

My mind was spinning with everything I had to do: overdue tasks, upcoming deadlines, and the pressure to be everything for everyone. I was exhausted but trying to power through, hoping I could catch up if I just pushed a little harder.

The next morning, I awoke to a whisper I couldn’t unhear: “My grace is sufficient.”

This simple truth comes from 2 Corinthians 12:9, which wasn’t a new Bible verse to me. I’ve heard it, quoted it, and even encouraged others with it. But that morning, it landed in my heart like a fresh revelation. I’ve learned that the Holy Spirit has a way of highlighting a truth right when you need it most, even before you know you need it. So I paused and leaned in.

When I looked up the full verse, I was struck by Paul’s words: “But [Jesus] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

I don’t know about you, but weakness isn’t something I tend to boast about. Most of us are taught to push through, stay strong, and hold it all together. But Paul delighted in hardship. Not because he enjoyed suffering but because he had learned the secret: When we come to the end of ourselves, we come face-to-face with the sufficiency of God's grace.

As I reflected on this scripture, I realized how weak I was feeling. But God wasn’t asking me to push harder. He was calling me to surrender, to stop measuring my strength and start trusting His.

That’s what I call the upside-down beauty of grace. It doesn’t show up when we’re “crushing it” in life; it shows up when we’re crushed. When we’re out of options, energy, and motivation. When we’ve tried to hold everything together and finally admit we can’t. Grace isn’t God’s reward for the capable; it’s His gift to the weary.

If you’re in that place today - tired, stretched thin, unsure how to keep going - I want you to hear what I heard: You don’t have to keep going in your own strength. Not for one more minute. God is not disappointed by your weakness. He’s drawn to it because His power is made perfect right there.

Whatever burdens you may be facing, remember the pressure is off. God’s grace is sufficient, and Christ’s power is waiting to rest on you.

Father, thank You that Your grace is not a backup plan - it’s the main source of my strength. Thank You for meeting me right in my weakness and not expecting me to have it all together. Help me to stop striving and start surrendering. Teach me to see my limits not as failures but as invitations to experience Your power. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

- Dr. Avril Occilien-Similien
Provided by "Proverbs 31 Ministries"

God Gets It

God gets it. He really does. He knows we aren’t perfect. From the very beginning, He understood that we would stumble, that our strength would fail, that our hearts would wander. And instead of leaving us to our own brokenness, He built the bridge back to Himself.

That bridge has a name: Jesus.

Through Him, every gap is covered, every failure redeemed, every distance crossed. God didn’t just look down at our weakness and shake His head. He stepped into it. He carried it. He bore it. And in doing so, He made a way where there was no way.

He’s not going to throw that all away. The cross was not temporary. His love is not fragile. Grace isn’t something He dangles like a prize for the perfect. It is a gift, steady and unshaken, because it rests on His character, not ours.

When you fall short, and you will, remember this: God isn’t surprised. He knows. And still He calls you His own. Still He welcomes you. Still He offers mercy that is new every morning.

So stop being afraid that one mistake will undo it all. The bridge still stands. The blood still speaks. The love of God still reaches farther than your flaws.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8)

God gets it. And He’s not letting go of you

- Ellie Mont

Jesus Wants You To Know...

"On some days, your circumstances and your physical condition feel out of balance: The demands on you seem far greater than your strength. Days like that present a choice between two alternatives - giving up or relying on Me. Even if you wrongly choose the first alternative, I will not reject you. You can turn to Me at any point, and I will help you crawl out of the mire of discouragement. I will infuse My strength into you moment by moment, giving you all that you need for this day."

"I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint." - Jeremiah 31:25 - "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young

Jesus Wants You To Know...

"As you journey along your life-path with Me, refuse to let the past define you or your expectations of what lies ahead. You may feel as if the road you are on is tiresome or even a dead end. That is because you’re projecting the past into the future. The roadblock you are straining to see up ahead is really just an illusion. The future is in My hands, and I can do surprising things with it!"

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height - to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.  - Ephesians 3:14-21 (NKJV)

- "Jesus Lives" by Sarah Young

Jesus Wants You To Know...

"I am teaching you the secret of being content in any and every situation. This secret is all about Me - who I am and what I offer you. I am your Creator and King, your Savior and Shepherd. I offer you Myself in all My Power and Glory. I am the only One who can empower you to find contentment in all circumstances. I have promised to supply all your need according to My riches in Glory. The greater your need, the more I invite you into the mysterious depths of My Being. Intimacy with Me gives you strength; it also fills you with transcendent Joy." "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." - Philippians 4:12–13 - "Jesus Lives" by Sarah Young

Do You Want To Heal From This?

“When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition
for a long time, he asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?’”

John 5:6 (NIV)

A few years ago, I walked into an appointment with my counselor, Jim, wishing I’d canceled.

So much felt unsettled in my life. I felt utterly unmotivated to talk and overly motivated to cry.

“Lysa, do you have the desire to heal from this?” he asked.

Of course! But how could I possibly start healing when there was so much still unresolved in my life?

I thought those who did wrong things would realize they were wrong. And then surely they would say they were sorry and seek to make things right between us. Then I would consider forgiveness. And then I could possibly heal.

But as Jim kept talking, I started to realize I might never feel like things were fair. Even if the people who hurt me suddenly became repentant and owned all they’d done, that wouldn’t undo the past. That wouldn’t instantly heal me or make any of this feel right. Therefore, I had to separate my healing from their choices. My ability to heal cannot depend on anyone’s choices but my own.

It reminded me of something I learned during a trip to the Holy Land, when my guide taught about the two healing miracles Jesus performed in Jerusalem. The first was a healing at the pools of Bethesda.

In John 5, we read about a man who couldn’t walk. “When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, ‘Do you want to get well?’” (John 5:6). The man’s response was surprising. He gave Jesus an excuse based on the fact that no one would help him. Isn’t it amazing that the man was so focused on what others needed to do that he almost missed what Jesus could do?

Jesus instructed him to get up, pick up his mat and walk - and “at once the man was cured” (John 5:9). The healing didn’t involve anyone but the man and Jesus.

The other healing miracle is found in John 9 and focuses on a blind man. In this story, the disciples wanted to know whose actions caused the man’s blindness. Surely someone was at fault.

But Jesus said, “This happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:3). Jesus then spat on the ground, mixed up some mud, rubbed it on the blind man’s eyes, and instructed him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam. Notice that Jesus didn’t make healing contingent on other people doing or owning anything.

Jesus gave the instruction. The blind man obeyed. Jesus healed. The man moved forward.

My guide in Jerusalem said, “One of these miracles shows us a new way to walk, and the other shows us a new way to see.” I couldn’t grab my journal to record this revelation fast enough.

Moving forward and seeing beyond our current darkness is between us and the Lord. We don’t need to wait for others to do anything. We must simply obey what God is asking of us right now. God has given us a new way to walk. And God has given us a new way to see.

My healing is my choice. And your healing? It’s with the utmost compassion that I say your healing is your choice too. I know how incredibly hard all of this is. But we can heal. We can forgive. We can trust God. And none of those beautiful realities can be held hostage by another person.

Lord, thank You for inviting me to see and walk in a new, healed way today. Forgiveness and healing may feel incredibly hard to choose, but I know You give me the strength to walk through these processes. Thank You for making me more like You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

- Lysa TerKeurst
Provided by "Proverbs 31 Ministries"

God is the Strength of My Heart...

Meme: I Am Strong...