“No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:5-9
When the Spartans faced the most significant threat, Persia, King Leonidas had to pick his best warriors to fight. Persia was a force to be reckoned with; not just any soldier would do! You would think he would look at the men and what they could do in battle, but he didn't. King Leonidas picked his 300 warriors based on their wives. That's right, the 300 men who went down in history as some of the most outstanding soldiers to ever live were picked based on their wives.
It was not about how strong the men were but how strong their wives were. He asked, "If those men never come home, could those women make it?" He knew that if they became overburdened with grief and couldn't manage life, it would affect the whole country. It would cause a substantial moral upset and may even cause Sparta not to be able to fend off what the Persian army would bring next.
This tells us several things. Strength does not come from where we think it does. It's not this magic fairy dust that sprinkles our soul from time to time to embolden us to do great things. It comes from a self-esteem developed by the belief that others know we can do it. We act on that belief and our own with success in difficult tasks. God gives us this strength, believes in us, and is our strong supporter and enabler when we are weak.
How strong you are in your innermost being is how strong you are. Your inner strength drives you when all other parts of you fail. I'm sure the confidence those men had in their wives pushed them. No, death was not their goal, but if it should happen, everything would be OK. How strong can you live with such confidence that winning, losing, or drawing in any problematic task will still be OK? We have this confidence in Christ, stronger than any spouse can be for us. We have more. We know in Him we reign victorious.
Your inner strength emboldens those you love to be brave and strong. We strengthen those around us when we act in faith and charge out into the headwinds of the world and darkness with full confidence of success. It says to those around us, if he can, I can. It gives them the strength to try as well. Not to mention, sometimes, the battles we fight are for them. We need to show this strong faith and the courage it brings. Look at the confidence Paul gave the early church by living such a life. Better yet, look at the courage we gain by looking at Christ. We say, if He can, so can I.
Finally, that strength is so infectious that it can affect an entire nation. We gain our strength, a mightier strength than these women, from God. Just like with Joshua, and look at what Joshua was able to do. If we grow strong in our innermost being, look at how much good it can do in our lives and those around us. How strong is your innermost man?
-Steve Johnson
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