Joshua 1:9 (NIV): 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.
EVEN WHEN we’re struggling, living through hurricanes, wading through flood waters, being battered by the storms of life and standing in the path of destruction, GOD IS WITH US, and all we’ve got to do is HAVE FAITH, TRUST GOD, and HOLD ON; we’ve got to be STRONG and COURAGEOUS and NEVER GIVE UP but always ENDURE, PERSEVERE, HOPE, PRAY, TRUST, and OVERCOME as MORE THAN CONQUERORS through HIM who LOVES US.
We’ve got to CARRY the SHIELD of FAITH, BE NOT AFRAID, and BE NOT DISCOURAGED but LEAN on HIM—GOD—and TRUST that HE’s GOT US COVERED and HE’s IN CONTROL as our LORD and SAVIOR, our PROTECTOR and PROVIDER, our DEFENDER, our COMFORTER, and our ROCK; and we must believe that He’ll guide us through the storm, through the floods, beyond the wind, beyond the rain, and beyond the hurricane.
We must believe that GOD LOVES US and GOD IS WITH US, GOD IS FOR US, and GOD will never leave us nor forsake us. We must believe that ALL THINGS WILL work together for good to those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose; and we must believe that though we are hard-pressed on every side, WE ARE NOT CRUSHED, though we are perplexed, WE ARE NOT IN DESPAIR, though we are persecuted, WE ARE NOT FORSAKEN, and though we are struck down, WE ARE NOT DESTROYED, because we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us, and we are VICTORS, not VICTIMS, even in the middle of the trials, the floods, the winds, and the storms. We’ve got to TRUST GOD and WALK IN FAITH, even when our world seems dark and out of control, and we’ve got to believe that NO WEAPON formed against us shall prosper; we've got to remember when trouble comes and there’s no light or sunshine in sight this TRUTH: GOD LOVES US, GOD SUSTAINS US, GOD HELPS US, GOD SAVES US, and GOD KNOWS the plans He has for us, plans TO PROSPER US and not harm us, plans TO GIVE US HOPE and a FUTURE; and we’ve got to humble ourselves and surrender everything, including self-reliance and fear and LEAN ON GOD, not our own understanding.
We've got to go ALL-IN and COMMIT to GOD and TRUST HIM to LEAD US, GUIDE US, EMPOWER US, ENCOURAGE US, COMFORT US, STRENGTHEN US, RESCUE US, and SAVE US before, during, and after the hurricane, the flood, and the storm, because being BLESSED is having GOD WITH US, all the time, especially in the storm.
