The Family Disciple Me Podcast // Discipleship Starts With a Conversation

Character Conversations: COURAGEOUS // Doing What God Has Called Us To Do (no matter what!)

• Tosha Williams for FDM • Season 5 • Episode 3

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Ever felt paralyzed by fear despite your skills and experiences? That’s exactly where I found myself on my podcasting journey, even with a background in public speaking and broadcast journalism. This episode is all about navigating those moments of doubt and discouragement, drawing inspiration from the biblical story of Joshua. By leaning on God's promise to be with us wherever we go, we can choose courage over fear and fulfill our divine callings.

Courage isn’t just a solo act, though; it’s about living boldly for God in every part of our lives. We’ll discuss the vital role of seeking and speaking His truth with unwavering bravery. Let's embrace the courage God offers and step boldly into the lives He has called us to lead.
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“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 NIV

SEEK HIM: Devotion is Meeting with God in Our Own Lives! Where in your life do you face a challenge or have an obstacle? Without a doubt, every one of us has moments and seasons of discomfort, distress and even danger. How do we respond? What character trait defines us? Let’s consider what God said to Joshua in this Scripture and “Seek Him” about what He’s saying about courage to us!

  • WHAT:  What is God saying through this Scripture?  Instead of being fearful or discouraged, God wanted Joshua to live with strength and courage no matter where he went. ~ What makes you afraid or discouraged today? According to Matthew 28:20, is God’s promise to Joshua true for you, too? 
  • WHY:  Why does this Scripture matter? Courage is the ability to do what God has called you to do no matter what. ~ What is God calling you to do no matter what? How does knowing God is with you help you face the hard parts of this?
  • HOW: How does God want us to respond to this truth? Psalm 31:24 encourages us, “Be strong, and let your heart be courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord” (CSB). We will find our greatest courage, not in the depths of ourselves, but in the Lord. As we look to Him, our reserves of strength and courage are filled by Him. That’s when we’re able to live out all that He’s called us to do no matter what. ~ How have you been trying to fill your courage tank? How does God want you to fill it? Where is He leading you that will require all the courage you can get from Him?

SPEAK HIM: Discipleship is Making God Known to Others! Before God spoke Joshua 1:9 directly to Joshua, Moses had already challenged Joshua with this in Deuteronomy 31:6, saying “to him in the sight of all Israel, ‘Be strong and courageous…’” Joshua became a strong and courageous leader. Thing is, what we speak into the lives of those God has entrusted to us may be the very foundation that prepares them to hear what God is calling them to. How are you speaking strength and courage into the life of someone God has entrusted to you?

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The Family Disciple Me ministry exists to catalyze devotion driven discipleship in our homes and around the world. We believe that discipleship starts with a conversation, and FDM provides free, easily-accessible, biblical resources to encourage these meaningful conversations along life's way. Sign up through our website to be "the first to know" about upcoming releases and resources (including the FDM App - coming soon!!!) You can also follow Family Disciple Me on social media.

Family Disciple Me is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit ministry, and all donations are tax deductible. More information, blogs, statement of faith and contact info can be found at familydiscipleme.org

Speaker 1:

In this podcast episode, I want to make a deal with you. Is that okay? I'm going to share with you something that makes me afraid and then I'm going to tell you what God wants me to do about it. But here's the deal. If I share this with you, please don't judge me. Please just do this. Join me in the journey of being courageous. This is the journey of doing what God has called us to do, no matter what. My son, joshua, wasn't comfortable, but he did decide to be courageous and help me with our Season 5 podcast welcome. So let's listen to him. Then come back and consider this character conversation about being courageous.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the Family Disciple Me podcast. If you have a real relationship with Jesus, then you're in the right place to be encouraged, challenged and blessed as you seek Him, speak Him. The mission of the Family Disciple Me ministry is to inspire devotion-driven discipleship, which is something we believe every Christ follower can do. Discipleship starts with a conversation, so let's get going with that right now.

Speaker 1:

I promised you that in this episode, I was going to share with you something that makes me afraid, and so well, here goes. It may actually surprise you, but this is the truth and it's something that I've had to really lean into with the Lord, because it continually makes me afraid and discouraged. And that thing is this it's podcasting. It's showing up week in and week out and talking into this microphone and endeavoring to speak the truth of God's Word to whomever is listening. I guess that means you, if you're listening to this podcast episode. And well, every week I feel this intimidation, I feel this fear that, just like I did a second ago, I'm going to mess up my words, or I'm going to say it wrong, or I'm not going to be funny enough, or I'm not going to have enough enough, or I'm not going to have enough details, or I don't know, just not be enough of whatever enough is. For anybody who knows me.

Speaker 1:

You might think that this fear is irrational or illogical, because, well, I'm not afraid of public speaking. I get up almost every Sunday and I speak to a church, I speak to a camera, I speak to live stream, as I do my lead chef responsibilities at Vanguard Church. I trained for broadcast journalism. I'm not someone who should be afraid of this, afraid of this, and yet, almost without fail, every week, I'm scared to sit down here in front of this microphone and talk to you. It's because of that very fear, it's because of the discouragement that comes along with that fear, that, well, this week's character trait matters so much to me. In fact, as I speak this character trait to you, I come to you with words that God has spoken into my heart as I have talked to him about this fear and the discouragement that I feel about this particular part of my life. Because here's the thing God doesn't want us to be wrapped up in fear. He doesn't want us to be wrapped up in discouragement. Instead, he wants us to be strong and courageous. The truth of this is found throughout Scripture Old Testament, new Testament. There's so many scriptures about being strong and being courageous, but I especially love one that is found in well, a really special book of the Bible, so special that I actually named my son after this book the book of Joshua.

Speaker 1:

In Joshua, chapter 1, verse 9, god was in to young Joshua as he was raising him up to be a leader of the nation of Israel. And God said to him 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. Your God will be with you wherever you go, instead of being fearful or discouraged or intimidated. God wanted Joshua to live with strength and courage, no matter where he went, and the truth of that echoes through the ages to us today. You see, courage is the ability to do what God has called us to do, no matter what. God was calling Joshua back in ancient Israel to be the second leader of Israel after Moses went on to glory.

Speaker 1:

But the reality is that God is calling all of his children, us included, to many things to do what's right to love, to serve, to forgive, to walk by faith, to do these certain things that he's called us to do. For me to podcast, of all things, he's calling us to obedience. He's calling us to live for him, us to obedience. He's calling us to live for him. And every single one of these things, whatever they look like in your life, whatever they look like in my life, every single one of these things takes courage.

Speaker 1:

But where do we get this courage from? That's why I love this particular scripture verse so much, because it tells us where to find courage. The world might tell us to just summon it up from the depths of ourselves, from the core of our souls, but God says that courage comes from the fact that he will be with us. That's such amazing truth. Our God is with us and because of that we can have courage. Psalm 31, verse 24, encourages us be strong and let your heart be courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord. I actually love this rendering of that verse from the original Hebrew. It says that is such an amazing promise. It's not just something we have to do, it's something that we get to receive, because we'll find our greatest courage not in the depths of ourselves or in the depths of someone else, but in God himself. As we look to him, as we spend time with him, as we wait on him, as we hope in him, our reserves of strength and courage are filled by him, and that's when we're able to live out all that he's called us to do, no matter what.

Speaker 1:

So my question for you is this where in your life do you need to be a courageous person right now? Where do you need God to fill you up so that you will have courage. Maybe you need courage to walk in to something, or maybe you need courage to walk away. Maybe you need courage to fight for something, or maybe you need courage to stop fighting against something. Maybe you need courage to begin, or maybe you need courage to back off. Maybe you need courage to lead, or perhaps you need courage to allow yourself to be led. Maybe you need courage to speak up, or maybe the courage you need is to hold your tongue.

Speaker 1:

Courage takes so many shapes and forms, the courage that God is commanding you, in this verse, to have in your story. Well, it probably looks different in its various aspects than the courage God is commanding me to have in my life, but the character trait that he wants all of us to have is to be courageous. And here's the thing Courage is what turns vulnerability into value. Courage is what turns pain into purpose. Courage is what turns that discomfort that you feel in your life into decisive action. And then it gets even better, because I can see how courage relates to everything about Family, disciple, me and the mission that we have.

Speaker 1:

Courage is what helps you turn your personal devotions into ongoing discipleship with people that God has entrusted to you, with people that God has entrusted to you. Courage is what helps you meet with God privately and then somehow, in some way, make him known publicly. Courage is what helps you seek him and then turn around and speak him to someone else. Oh friend, how is God calling you to be courageous? I know how he's calling me to be courageous and every hour, every day, I'm asking him to help me, to remind me of his presence, to enable me to remember that he is with me. I'm asking him continually to help me take my fears and my discouragements and put them in a bucket and toss them over the cliff and turn my face back to him, looking for his strength and his encouragement, so that I can be a courageous person for the glory of God and for the good of those he's entrusted to me. You know what I love about this story in Joshua, chapter 1?.

Speaker 1:

When God said to Joshua be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for I will be with you wherever you go, god was echoing something that Moses had already spoken into Joshua before he died. Deuteronomy, chapter 31, verse 6, says that Moses said to Joshua, in front of all of Israel said to Joshua, in front of all of Israel be strong, be courageous. And that is what Joshua became, but not of his own accord. I have to believe that, because Moses spoke that into Joshua, his ears were ready to hear when God himself spoke it into him. Whose life are you speaking into?

Speaker 1:

Be strong and courageous. Maybe it's your child, maybe it's your grandchild, maybe it's a friend, maybe it's somebody else that God has entrusted to you, but you never know. But that, as you say, god tells us don't be afraid, don't be discouraged. God tells us to be strong and courageous and to remember that he's with us. We never know that when we sow those seeds into their hearts, god is going to come back around and speak that very thing to them, so that they rise up, like ancient Joshua did, to live for God and be the leader and the person that he has created them to be. You know, come to think of it. That's exactly what I want to see happen in my own Joshua's life.

Speaker 1:

My son, joshua, is a young adult now. In fact, he's not just an adult, he's a husband, he's a father, he's a father of twins, and yet, as his mother, I can breathe courage into him, I can inspire courage in him and I can be an example of courage for him, and so, really, that's why I sit behind this microphone. So, really, that's why I sit behind this microphone, because, as I seek the Lord, I know he's called me to do this, but then it doesn't stop there, because God wants me to turn around and speak him and show him to someone else, and if, in some little way, this microphone helps me to do that, then that's what I'm willing to do. So what about you? What about God's calling on your life?

Speaker 1:

As we close this particular episode, I want to speak the words of 1 Corinthians 16, verses 13 and 14. Speak these words over you as a prayer, as a blessing. And 14, speak these words over you as a prayer, as a blessing. Oh Lord, may you help each person hearing these words to be on guard. May you help each one stand firm in the faith. May each one be courageous, may each be strong. And, lord, help us all to do everything in love for your glory, for our good and for the good of all those that you've entrusted to us, in your name Jesus. Amen. Now, friend, go with God, live for him, do what he's called you to do Seek him, speak him and, in it all, be courageous.

Speaker 2:

Thanks for joining us in this podcast episode. You can find the matching conversation guide in the show notes. To get the latest updates about the Family Disciple Me ministry, as well as word about our soon-to-be-released app, sign up to be the first to know at familydisciplemeorg. Also, if you enjoyed this podcast, help us get the word out by leaving us a review on your favorite podcast platform. God bless you, friend. Now go seek Him, speak Him.