WHAT DO YOU MEAN?
What do you mean “be strong and courageous?”
Listen, can I just be real? When I used to read this story about Joshua and read Joshua 1:9, I would think to myself, “Oh, that’s nice–God is reminding Joshua right here to be strong and courageous as He approached the promised land. Homie had a lot going on—so yeah, that makes sense.”
LITTLE DID I KNOW, that God would use this to totally flip the script on me.
See, in 2024 into the start of 2025, God laid it on my heart to launch The J19, to root it in this passage, and to be an echo of it. And I was scared to death. Like, how am I supposed to lead people in this when I am terrified myself? How am I supposed to do this when I am struggling to walk this out too?
And get this: THE J19 WASN’T JUST FOR OTHERS BUT FOR ME TOO. (Y’all need to hear me on this!!)
Let’s rewind the tape—in the beginning of 2024, God told me that I would not be at my job much longer. I had been there for 10 years, was nearing the end of my pregnancy with my second baby, and we could NOT find suitable childcare. I was panicked (just ask my husband).
I was determined to find childcare.
I was determined to stay at my job.
I was determined to uphold my career.
However, God kept saying otherwise to me, and if that wasn’t enough, He also kept sending men and women of God my way who kept telling me exactly what I was terrified of.
Then, I had Lainey in April of 2024, went back to work for a few months, and God made it loud and clear that it was time to go and shut the door in my face too. (Y’all know that I am stubborn as a mule, okay?!)
So then, in the heat of the summer, I became a sahm without any experience or any knowledge of what that even looked like, I was mourning my career (and the identity), and was stressed to the absolute max on how in the world we were going to even pay our bills. (Let’s get very real right now!!)
So, here I am with a baby, trying to figure out who in the world I am in the Lord, trying to figure out where to even start with all of these Holy Ghost downloads I was receiving, and trying to figure out how in the world we would make ends meet financially. (It was A LOT fam.)
BUT GOD.
In me laying down my pride and frustrations, God began doing a massive work within me.
I began to learn what it really meant to be a wife and a mother. I began to learn the power of servanthood and humility in the home and in the house of the Lord. I began to learn what boundaries are and how to protect myself as well as my home. I began to understand that I was made to break through generational bondage and strongholds, and I had never known what a present parent even looked like. I began to be reminded that with my first baby, I was in consistent survival mode and didn’t get to enjoy motherhood at all, and God was also redeeming that through my second baby. I was beginning to understand that He was actually laying the foundations of a ministry and a book launch that used parts of my own childhood and childhood trauma to help others heal too. I began to see His fingerprints in every piece of my life, and I began to understand that being “strong and courageous” wasn’t just for Joshua – but for you and I too. (Whew–what a God!)
See, being strong and courageous looks like holding your babies when they are scared and reminding them that everything is going to be okay.
Being strong and courageous looks like setting healthy boundaries and standing firm.
Being strong and courageous looks like getting up and making the bed when your entire world is crumbling around you.
Being strong and courageous looks like holding and praying for your spouse when their health is declining.
Being strong and courageous looks like submitting an article for a writing contest or doing something totally out of your comfort zone.
Being strong and courageous looks like standing in the gap and warring for your home while it feels like everything is imploding.
Being strong and courageous looks like walking through another fire that you have no control over.
So fam, Joshua 1:9 is for you too. You can apply Joshua 1:9 to EVERY SINGLE aspect of your life and trust in God to be your strength and courage when you have none.
And no joke, God has brought so much provision to us, has given my husband and I strength that doesn’t make sense, has given us so much favor, and has significantly increased our endurance.
Our strength and our courage truly isn’t our own, but it comes from the One who made us. And here’s the deal: God has never failed and never will. We can fully rely on Him while we walk out the scary stuff, move forward in obedience, and while we persevere in our purpose.
So, be strong and courageous fam because HE IS WITH YOU!! The command that is on your life isn’t just for you but for the lives around you and the generations that follow you. And you never know, what if the command you have been fighting all along is the one thing that God uses to free you too? (WHEW!)
So, go ALL IN with God and surrender EVERY part of your life because it is so worth it, and the plans that HE has for you will absolutely blow your mind every time!!
I love ya fam!!
Sam
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