The 10 Commandments seem pretty cut and dry. Maybe even easy at first glance! Quick review: Only worship God, don’t make idols, don’t misuse God’s name, honor the Sabbath day, honor your parents, don’t murder, don’t commit adultery, don’t steal, don’t lie about people, and don’t get jealous about what other people have. Now, don’t get me wrong… Even if these rules do seem fairly cut and dry, that doesn’t mean they’re always easy to obey. 

But as I consider how easy or difficult it is to follow a rule, I think about ease in terms of how easy or difficult it is for me to resist temptation. I know what the Bible says. Whether or not I choose to do it is a matter of choosing one way or the other. It’s black and white, right or wrong. I either do the right thing in the moment or fall short. 

Sometimes, though, perhaps it’s not quite that clear-cut. It’s not as emotion-free as it seems to be. Have you considered that following God’s commands actually requires strength and courage at times? It’s not always a matter of knowing the right and wrong thing and choosing whether or not to do it. Sometimes doing the right thing requires strength and courage. I noticed something that I’d never seen before when reading Joshua 1 this morning, where the Lord is speaking to Joshua as he takes the leadership reins from Moses near the end of Moses’ life. God is promising to be with Joshua and telling him to hold close to the “Book of the Law” so that he and the Israelites will be prosperous and successful. But check this out… In the midst of His ‘speech,’ God says:

Above all, be strong and very courageous to observe carefully the whole instruction my servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go. -Joshua 1:7

Did you catch that? God tells Joshua (and the people) to “be strong and very courageous to observe carefully” His instructions. I don’t know about you, but I don’t always think about the fact that it can take strength and courage to be obedient to God. We don’t need to feel embarrassed or weak when it’s hard to follow the Lord’s ways. Even if you’ve been chasing after Jesus for decades, it takes strength and courage to carefully abide by the words of Scripture. 

Here are some synonyms for strength: 

• Power, robustness, toughness, vigor, energy, force, might, hardiness, brawn, muscle, durability, resistance, fortitude, spirit, backbone, resilience

Here are some synonyms for courage: 

• Tenacity, resolution, bravery, mettle, audacity, valor, heroism, grit, endurance, fearlessness, prowess, spunk, gallantry, guts, nerve, boldness, stout-heartedness

What temptation are you facing today that requires one of these mindsets or attitudes? Obeying God’s Word is no light task. While the right path may often be cut and dry, that doesn’t mean you can snap your fingers and follow through, no problem. It’s okay if it’s a struggle; that doesn’t make you a lower level Christian. If God was specific enough to tell His people to “be strong and very courageous to observe carefully” and follow His Law, then He knew obedience would sometimes involve our whole selves—emotions and all.

So don’t be discouraged! Don’t be embarrassed! Don’t get down on yourself! There will surely be times when you must be strong and very courageous in order to stay in line with God’s will. Just because it’s not easy to do the right thing doesn’t mean you’re any “worse” of a person. Be on the lookout for circumstances in your life that require you to activate your God-empowered strength and courage. Be strong and very courageous, Christians!