Be Strong and Courageous

I am in the process of beginning a commentary on the Book of Joshua. And as I was spending time in chapter 1 of the book and thinking about God's encouragement to his people to be "strong and courageous", I was reminded of the Scottish preacher John Livingstone (1603-72). When he was a young man in his twenties he doubted whether he had a call to the ministry, and he had great fear that God had not set him apart to that work. When he was twenty-seven years old he still had no ministerial charge. A neighboring minister one day engaged Livingstone to preach on a Sunday at his church in Shotts. The morning of the sermon Livingstone had such a fit of fear and panic that he sought to flee before the service. He took heart, however, and courageously went forth and preached on Ezekiel 36:25-26. Five hundred people ascribed their conversion to that sermon.
Indeed, in our Christian walk, we need to be "strong and courageous". As David remarks, "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1)