““Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go” (NIV) Joshua 1:7

Life is full of challenges and people always have some strong belief that the next level above where they want to reach will be relieved of difficulties and troubles. Every stage of life comes with its own blessings and challenges to both believers and non-believers. There are no demarcations for people of different faith to live independent lives to maintain their statues.

Every day of our lives comes with many uncertainties and challenges especially getting into an unknown situation. Joshua had been a companion with Moses in leading the Israelites at the long journey in the wilderness to Canaan. After been chosen as the successor, God himself motivated Joshua in his new role in life by instilling hope and confidence. God’s message to Joshua was clear “be bold and follow the laws of God”.

Fear of the world and especially criticisms from others have put many people in self-prison. We are still in the early part of the year where many people are thinking of taking on new duties at work, school and spiritual assignments. One common challenge that runs through all decisions of life is fear.

If you want to succeed in all spiritual and physical matters, you need to be bold. Be ready for more challenges as you stand for the truth with boldness (1 Pet 5:8). You can never be bold and stand for the truth if you want to please all men (Jas. 4:4). If you want to succeed by pleasing the world and avoiding majority criticizing you, you will surely compromise your faith in God.

What must we take a bold stand for? Anything right, true, pure, noble, lovely, of good report and pleases God (Phil. 4:8). Be bold like Joseph in your stand against sin (Gen. 39:6-10). Be bold like Daniel and his friends in standing for what is right (Dan. 3). Be as bold as Apostle Paul in declaring the truth of God to others if you want to succeed and get to heaven.

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