Prefer to listen instead? The audio version of this article is available at relateecm.com.

This audio is AI-narrated and may mispronounce some names and places.

Good morning, friends! Pull up a chair on the porch — Uncle Ricky, Biscuit, and Olive have a verse to share with you today.

Uncle Ricky: Good Saturday morning, friends! Come on out on the porch — the sun is up, the coffee is on, and Uncle Ricky has a word for anybody facing something new or a little bit scary today.

Biscuit: That would be me again, Uncle Ricky. Saturday is supposed to be my brave day, but I woke up thinking about that big hollow tree past the creek. I have never been past it. What if I get lost? What if something jumps out?

Olive: I flew past it yesterday! Well… almost past it. I got to the top branch, looked way out there, and flew right back. It looked very… big out there.

Uncle Ricky: Ha! Well, Biscuit the raccoon, and Olive the dove, you have both walked us straight to today’s Scripture. This is what the Lord said to Joshua when Joshua was standing at the edge of something brand new and bigger than he felt ready for. Listen to Joshua chapter 1, verse 9: “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”

Biscuit: Wait — God commanded him to be strong? Like, it’s not just a nice suggestion? “Be strong” is an order from headquarters?

Uncle Ricky: That’s exactly right, Biscuit. And hear why He can give that order: not because Joshua was the strongest fellow around, but because of the promise tied to it — “for the LORD thy God is with thee.” Courage doesn’t come from how big we are. It comes from Who is with us.

Olive: Whithersoever! That’s a big word. Does that mean… everywhere-so-ever? Past the hollow tree and back?

Uncle Ricky: Everywhere-so-ever is a fine way to say it, Olive! Whithersoever thou goest — the creek, the hollow tree, a new job, a hard conversation, a doctor’s office, a town you’ve never lived in. There is no “soever” place you can go where He isn’t already with you. Now isn’t that exciting?

Biscuit: Okay, but here’s my honest question. If God is with me, why do I still feel afraid sometimes? Does feeling afraid mean I’m doing it wrong?

Uncle Ricky: No, son, and that’s important. The verse says “be not afraid” — it’s a direction for our hearts, not a scolding for ever feeling a flutter. Courage isn’t never feeling afraid. Courage is taking the next step while you’re afraid, because you trust the One walking with you more than you trust the fear.

Olive: Oh! So I can be a little fluttery and still be brave at the same time?

Uncle Ricky: You surely can, Olive. And look at that other phrase: “neither be thou dismayed.” Dismayed is when a thing looks so big your heart just wants to sit down and quit before you start. God is saying, don’t quit at the sight of it. He is with thee — present tense, right now, not just when you arrive.

Biscuit: Hmm. So Joshua wasn’t brave because the land ahead was small. He was brave because God ahead of him was big.

Uncle Ricky: Now you’re preaching, Biscuit! I’d call that a gift from God, wouldn’t you? Joshua had lost Moses, he had a whole people looking to him, and a whole land in front of him he had never led anybody through. If anybody had reason to feel small on a Saturday morning, it was Joshua. And God’s answer wasn’t a bigger sword — it was a bigger promise: I am with thee whithersoever thou goest.

Olive: Then I’m going past the hollow tree today! Well… to the hollow tree. And maybe one branch past it. With God. And maybe Biscuit.

Biscuit: I’ll go if you go, Olive. Number one helper reporting for brave duty — knees shaking, but reporting!

Uncle Ricky: Ha! That’s real courage, both of you. Friends, let’s pray together. Father, thank You for this Saturday, and thank You for Your promise to Joshua that is still true for us today. Forgive us for the times we let fear decide how far we would go. Make us strong and of a good courage — not because we are so able, but because You are with us whithersoever we go. Help every friend listening who is facing something new today to take the next step trusting You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Uncle Ricky: Be strong and of a good courage, friends. Whatever is past your hollow tree today, you do not face it alone — the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. Doesn’t that make you feel great?

— Uncle Ricky

A little something from the shop: our “Be Strong and of Good Courage — Joshua 1:9” design is in the Uncle Ricky’s Bible shop now — on shirts, mugs, and more. Every purchase helps keep the daily devotion and the chapter readings coming to you free. Find it at relateecm.com/shop/ — and thank you kindly for being part of this family.