Message summary: Receive the daily promise that God's strength is absolutely  adequate to meet your every need!

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"Be strong and courageous" (Joshua 1:6). "Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power" (Ephesians 6:10). "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).

Pastor Ed Underwood in his book "When God Breaks Your Heart" wrote about his battle with malevolent lymphoma, a form of cancer that  leads to more suicides than any other form according to oncologists. It can produce intense pain and unbearable itching that can push the senses and the psyche to the limit. He writes:

Living in such painful circumstances is an enormous challenge. He writes, "Falling back on some of my favorite verses from Scripture, or the most comforting truths about the personal relationship with the Lord Jesus I entered into as a young man, I repeat the verse or truth over and over again. I always begin with Philippians 4:13, 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.' Then I discipline my mind to say this over and over again with the emphasis on a different word each time."

The first daily Scripture provides a word of assurance from the Lord to Joshua as he assumed leadership from Moses: "Be strong and courageous". This phrase is repeated three times in verses 6-9 for emphasis. Both strength and courage were greatly needed by Joshua for the monumental task at hand.

Can you just imagine following a spiritual giant like Moses who had led God's people from captivity through the Red Sea and was instrumental in God performing so many other mighty miracles! In the flesh Joshua surely felt overwhelmed and inadequate, as would each of us. And even now we can identify with this need today as we face many challenges. We all need God's strength!

The second daily Scripture is a word from the Apostle Paul written initially to the Ephesian believers:  "Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power". All God's children can receive this call. So many issues can weaken us. It may be personal struggles such as illness, family problems, a work situation or a pesky neighbor*. It may be the wearing down we experience as we see the times becoming ever more perilous as predicted in Scripture (2 Timothy 3:1). That's the emotion I may feel as I read the news. However, for other believers it may be an actual present persecution for their faith.

But the part of the verse so operative is the phrase "in the Lord". He is the source of our strength! Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul reminds us that the strength we rely on is insufficient from within ourselves but is all-sufficient from the Lord "and His mighty power".  Many of you have written to us and shared of the tremendous challenges you are facing in life. Please receive the daily promise that God's strength is absolutely adequate to meet your every need!

Be encouraged today, Hebrews 3:13

Stephen and Brooksyne Weber