Picture by Caprice
Miller
“Have
I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be
discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you
wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
Along with the stars and stripes of the great American flag,
the Texas flag has to be one of the most recognizable flags of our nation and,
I would dare say, the world. The familiar
red, white and blue of our countries colors, but the one LONE STAR that makes
it stand apart from the rest. There is a
lot of symbolism that is represented by the flag of the “Lone Star State”. Many don’t understand, but that’s all
right. If they give a Texan a moment we’ll
explain a bit about the Texas Pride that seems to puzzle so many that “Ain’t
from around here”. Sure Texas is big
and we have just about every natural terrain there is. (We’ll leave the frozen
tundra to Alaska though.) But there is
something even more special that is not as easily seen or explained. It’s strength and courage that comes from being
a part of something bigger than yourself.
Texas has a history of fighting for what is right and what belongs to
us. You could say Texas pride is all
about Faith, Family and Freedom. Texans are a gentle bunch, but if you
want to challenge those things….well….let’s just say you better not “Mess With
Texas”. We will stand STRONG and
COURAGEOUS! Admit it, you might tempted right
now to throw your fist in the air and give a big “YEAH!” even if you “ain’t
from around here” – it’s contagious.
In the verse above, Joshua, in essence, was preparing to fight for his Faith,
Family and Freedom. It was a big task
Joshua was given to lead the Israelites, his family, across the river into the Promised
Land. And now God himself is telling
Joshua “…Be strong and courageous. ….for the Lord your God will be with you
wherever you go.” Can you imagine the
courage that would swell inside you to receive a message from God like that? With that kind of power with me I’m not afraid
of anything! There is a sense of pride –
righteous pride – that comes with knowing that God is with you. As
Christians, we can hold our head high knowing that God is always with us. We can stand strong and courageous in His
name and defeat anything the enemy might throw at us to threaten our freedom in
Christ. We can build strong families as
we instill this same strength and courage within them. And we can stand tall in the face of fear and
discouragement as our faith is proven time after time. Imagine what would happen if we decided to
walk in strength and courage every day knowing God is with us. It could cause a ripple effect that would strengthen our families, communities, state, and country. I don't know about you but that makes me want to raise my hand and shout "YEAH!!!"
“Have
I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be
discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you
wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9