Skip to main content

The Power of a Prefix

This morning as I laid across my bed (my new favorite place to read my Bible), I contemplated briefly where I should start reading.  I decided on Joshua because he's a pretty cool guy who accomplished a lot for the Lord and had a lot of inner fortitude to succeed.

 Joshua 1 brings us up to date on where Joshua's story continues.  He had spent time being introduced in Deuteronomy.  Joshua was now being tasked with bringing God's people, the Israelites, finally into the promised land after the fiasco in the desert where they just  ended up wandering for 40 years.  During the "pep talk" God gave him, he was reminded three times to "be strong and courageous".  I'm guessing that there was some fear and trepidation on Joshua's part.  His predecessor didn't exactly have a great time leading and never got to see the promised land.  Moses's shadow loomed large before Joshua.

 God knew that Joshua was capable or He wouldn't have asked him to guide His road-weary people.  He knew that Joshua would need super human strength to deal with the whiny Israelites, plus to defeat the known enemies on the other side of the Jordan River.  He knew the next leader was going to need an extra helping of courage to accomplish the goals set for him. 

 He needed to be strong and courageous.

 Strong: powerful and difficult to resist or defeat; likely to succeed because of sound reasoning or convincing evidence; able to withstand force, pressure or wear

 Courageous: not deterred by danger or pain

 Woah, that is asking a lot now that I look at it that way.  That is a lot of meaning packed into two words.  So now look what God tells Joshua in verse 9:

 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

 Discouraged: having lost confidence or enthusiasm; disheartened

 Look at the difference the little prefix "dis" makes.  It takes courage from being undeterred by danger and pain to losing confidence and heart.  Ouch.  Pretty powerful for such small string of letters.

 God didn't tell Joshua He had an easy job for him.  He didn't promise him a well-paved road filled with well-behaved believers.  He didn't even give him all the specifics of his journey.  Basically, he got a "Stick with Me, Kid".

 But sticking with God should be all of the courage and strength we need.  He's given us His words to guide us and encourage us.  He's given us the opportunity to talk to Him at any given moment.  And, He gave us His own SON so we could spend eternity with Him.  

 So, one last definition.  Let's take off the "dis" from courage and add "en": encourage.

 Encourage: give support, confidence of hope to someone; stimulate the development of an activity, state of belief

 Ah.  the power of a prefix.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What's in a Name?

Her name is Janice.  Who? The homeless woman who lives in the alley across the street from my work. She has a cart and a small suitcase always by her side. She always sleeps sitting up - at least anytime I see her. I've taken her a bag of water and some snacks once. I pray for her a lot. Until yesterday, I'd only spoken to her once - the time I dropped off the water and snacks. I told her my name and asked her hers. She spoke it quietly, barely above a whisper.  Yesterday I saw her standing at the end of the alley rather than sleeping in the back of it. I dug through my purse and pulled out two fives. I unrolled my window and drove up to her at the alley. I called her name to get her to come to me. Her head shot up and she just stared at me. She seemed shocked to be called that or that I remembered her. Then she came to me and we talked and I handed her the money. A few seconds after she left my car, I heard the manager of another local business call her by her name and ask ho...
Post a Comment
Read more

Unemployed - Part Two

In my last post I mentioned this would be the "rest of the story". I realized a bit ago that this actually is just the middle of the story as God hasn't shown me the "rest" yet. Again, I'm not going to go through and edit this. Again, I'm just being real, typos and all. Where we left off, I'd left my job and now you understand why more fully. It was my mental health or working for her. I chose health. A few weeks before I left, I'd heard a song by my current favorite band, Unspoken. If you know me well, you'll know that I latch onto one specific band or artist and stick with them on a constant loop of their songs until another band sneaks in. I've been listening to Unspoken on that loop for about six months now. Coincidence? Nah. I worked for her for five months. One month prior the Lord started infiltrating my head with life-giving music. He knew.  One song, Sleep in the Storm, hit me hard a few weeks ago. It is the telling of the story ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Unemployed - Part One

September has always been a great month, largely because our family celebrates six birthdays in one week! Add to that it's the beginning of Fall on either my brother's birthday or mine. September is a great month. This year. 2023? It was a rough one. Besides additional physical struggles for my sister, September 8th I quit my job. Many of you know a bit about the why, but I'm going to go a little more in depth here - partly so I can be transparent and partly because it is healing for me. I started this latest job with a renowned attorney in the Rockford/Loves Park/Byron area in April, leaving a job behind where the environment was "frosty" and the attorney I worked with swore like a sailor. Many are able to get past that, but I cringe every time I hear swearing and let me tell you, I cringed all day long every day. There were other major issues, but this isn't about that job. From day one with this new attorney, I realized it may have been a mistake to come he...
Post a Comment
Read more