This summer I attended the General Assembly of the PCUSA and at the opening worship, the first nine verses of Joshua were read, ending with,

"I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Josh 1:9 NRSV).

It was a layered dramatic reading, where a young girl with long and fiery red hair stood facing sideways on the front stage while slightly behind her, two men and a woman stood spaced out facing the audience. The young girl read the voice of God, while the two men and woman repeated various phrases in different speeds and octaves, emphasizing different parts of the text. It was by far the most beautiful reading of scripture I have ever seen and heard. The young girl stood tall and spoke with such clarity and authority, her voice rung with the hope and courage I envision God having. She did justice to enormity of the task set before her. The young girl still somewhere inside of me who used to take notes during church on Sunday and then go home and preach to her congregation of stuffed animals was overwhelmed with witnessing in the flesh the power of God embodied in a young girl just like herself.

The experience and reading haunted me so much that after coming back to Princeton, I painted a tapestry inspired by that reading and it hangs in my room here at PTS, where it serves as a reminder to keep that little girl who preached to her stuffed animals alive and restless and unsatisfied till she gets that collar.

But even more than that, the simplicity of the message stuck with me. Be strong. Be courageous. Do not be afraid. It's so simple, it's so clear, yet it's so hard to do. The NRSV translates it as "I hereby command you…" but the original Hebrew could also be translated as a rhetorical question, "Have I not commanded you???" It's as if God is saying, you silly Israelites, listen to me!! Can't you see, it's so simple. DON’T OVERTHINK IT.

In this part in the story of Joshua, Moses has just died, and the Israelites have yet to reach the promise land, their sweet land overflowing with milk and honey. They are a bit apprehensive and scared, rightfully so, but God steps in and commissions Joshua to lead them on and assures them that everything promised to them through Moses will still be given to them. They just need to keep the law, be strong and courageous, and have faith in their God, the God who liberated them from oppression in Egypt.

It's simple, but it's terrifying. To walk for years in the wilderness just on faith. To just walk. Day after day. Walk and have faith.

I get why the Israelites were so scared. They needed 40 years in the wilderness to prepare them for the promise land. I picture that journey sometimes, and what Joshua 1:9 would have meant to the Israelites when they heard it. As an avid hiker myself, I have a glimpse at understanding long journeys on foot. Back in 2016 I spent about a month or so backpacking through New Zealand with a friend. One of our multiday hikes required about 25 miles on the first day, with a fully loaded pack, and about 5000ft of elevation gain. While the views were stunning, fast-forward to 12 hours of hiking, my feet are raging, and I can just feel the blisters swelling. My mental and physical energy are drained to nearly zero and we come upon the last mile, and it’s a mile of switchbacks going down the mountain. A switchback is where the trail cuts back into the opposite direction very suddenly and THEY ARE THE WORST. I was done. But I couldn’t be. I kept going and through the misery, the song sanctuary popped into my head.

"Lord prepare me, to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true

And with thanksgiving, I'll be a living, sanctuary, for you."

It's a simple song with simple lyrics and a simple tune. But it brought me comfort. I repeated it over and over in my head. Matched it to the rhythm of my worn feet trudging forward with each step and I slipped into a little meditative trance until eventually, it was over. We reached camp and I had made it. We set up tent, made dinner, I popped the huge blisters on my feet, went to bed, got up the next day and started walking and repeating sanctuary.

I imagine that some of the Israelites might have repeated Joshua 1:9 over and over when the days were long, and food was low, and energy and hope were nowhere to be found. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. For Adonai my God will be with me. Adonai my God is with me wherever I go. Adonai my God is here now.

Words have power. In my first months of the Philippines when I was going through deep culture shock and home sickness, I lived in a remote farming village. I couldn’t speak the language and was struggling with how to communicate and what my place was in this new community. It was an extreme reality of loneliness I had never felt so deeply before. I found comfort in the consistent routine of farm life. The day and activities revolved around the rising and setting of the sun. The sun set at about 7pm every day, year-round. I knew if it made it to 7pm, I had made it through another day. My mantra for that year was 7pm, just make to 7pm. Then you've made it through another day. And those days turned into months, and those months turned into a year of 7pms. And when the year was up, I knew I would miss a life full of 7pms dearly. I still do.

What I love most about Joshua 1:9 is that God makes no promises of an easy life. There is no promise of happiness or joys or sorrows or any specifics really. Just a command to be brave and a promise to be with you on the journey. I hold this close in world full brokenness. In a world wrought with hate and injustice, God makes no claims to fix it for us, just a charge to step forward one foot at a time in bravery, knowing God is with us in each tired and heavy step.

As I write this now, it’s almost 7pm and another day has passed. Another day of walking. Just now, the walking is from my apartment to the library, to various shelves of books, to downtown to get lunch, and walking back to my beloved little haven of seminary. As I go through and get plagued with doubt of my abilities and belonging, of my call to be here, my worthiness to minister, my academic ability, it’s overtaken by the meditations of the Israelites in their wilderness journey. With each step, be strong and courageous. Each moment of doubt, do not be afraid. Each exhausted step, Adonai my God is here with me now. It’s simple, and it’s enough.