Joshua 1:9 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
“Becca, can I sleep with you?” James whispered into the darkness of his sister’s room.
“James! You woke me up. Go back to your bed,” Rebecca told her little brother.
“Pleeeeeeeease? I heard a noise, and I’m scared,” he told her. She could hear the fear in his voice.
“Why don’t you see if you can sleep with Mom and Dad?” she asked him.
“I already did. They told me to go back to bed. But I’m scared, Becca! Please let me sleep with you.”
Rebecca remembered something she’d heard in church a few weeks ago. Sleepily, she clicked on her lamp and reached for her Bible. “Come here,” she said, and the young boy practically jumped onto her bed.
“Remember the story of Joshua? He was afraid to lead his people into the Promised Land because the people who lived there were giants. But God told Joshua he didn’t have to be afraid.” She opened her Bible to the book of Joshua.
“Here it is,” she showed him. “See, God told Joshua to be courageous, and that He would never leave him, no matter what.”
James smiled and snuggled close, as if for a bedtime story.
“James, you don’t have to be afraid in your room. God will be with you just like He was with Joshua.”
“I know. I feel better already. Thanks, Becca,” James said with a yawn. Before her eyes, her little brother fell sound asleep, taking up more than his share of the bed.
Rebecca chuckled, reached over her little brother, and turned off the lamp. Maybe he could be courageous tomorrow. Tonight, it looked like he was staying right where he was.
