Man is not promised an endless supply of strength for him to store up. Rather, God promises to provide the necessary grace and strength for the present trials.
Change often results in fear. As such, it must be met with strength. Failure to do so can breed panic that only God's strength can overcome.
During times of battle, believers commonly find themselves to be underdogs. Faith, however, refuses to retreat and trusts God to overcome superior foes.
Throughout man’s sordid history, people have mocked, rejected, and forsaken the Lord. They have chosen to look to gods that cannot save or help.
In spite of all that God has done for man, men still refuse to have respect for Him. The Lord never has nor ever will compete for respect from man.
No man is to be respected above another person in a form of unrighteous judgment. However, does not infer nondiscrimination in every matter.
Although there are times where God respects some while rejecting others, God’s acceptance of one and rejection of another is never a baseless respect.
As Moses recounted Israel’s time in the wilderness, he reminded God’s people of the reasons for their failure to enter into the land of promise. He rehearsed how it was the people who approached him requesting that spies first be sent into the land to explore it. If the people had trusted God, surveying the land would have been unnecessary. Yet, the people doubted God’s provisions so Moses sent in the spies. When they returned, they expressed stories of giants and walled cities that made the people fear to carry out God’s will. The spies’ report '"discouraged” (Deuteronomy 1:28) the hearts of the people. This loss of courage yielded an unbelief in the people (Deuteronomy 1:32), greatly displeasing the Lord (Hebrews 3:17-19).
In Deuteronomy, Moses rehearsed the events that led up to God’s denying him entry into the promised land though he was Israel’s leader at the time. The Lord instructed Moses, as he stood upon Mt. Pisgah, to encourage and strengthen Joshua. Moses could have offered numerous excuses for not wanting to encourage Joshua. Instead, Moses determined to obey God by strengthening and encouraging his successor. He knew that Joshua as Moses’ replacement was about to face some of the greatest trials of his life. There would be times of fear along with battles and obstacles, small and great. The Lord knew Joshua desperately needed courage to make it through these trials. He, therefore, enlisted Moses and instructed His children to encourage the new leader during this difficult transition (Deuteronomy 1:38).
As we have seen, courage comes from a strength of heart. On the contrary, the Bible likens discouragement (the opposite of courage) to a melted heart (Joshua 2:11). In other words, discouragement takes place when a man’s heart loses strength. The Bible reveals that discouragement comes through various avenues of life. Men become discouraged because of “the way” (i.e., the circumstances of life) (Numbers 21:4). Discouragement also results from fear and unbelief (Deuteronomy 1:28) and the magnitude of a task (1 Chronicles 28:20). Ultimately, discouragement rears its ugly head as a result of a lack of faith in God and His word. Since discouragement and a lack of faith go hand in hand, a discouraged man cannot please God (Hebrews 11:6).
