Deuteronomy 31:23 · World English Bible
He commissioned Joshua the son of Nun, and said, “Be strong and courageous; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land which I swore to them. I will be with you.”
A man is handed a burden larger than himself and told, before he can protest, to be strong. The charge does not wait for him to feel ready.
From the Clinical Psychology reading below.
The same verse, read by one tradition.
CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY
A man is handed a burden larger than himself and told, before he can protest, to be strong. The charge does not wait for him to feel ready. Courage here is a commandment, an instruction to move toward the promised territory precisely when fear counsels retreat. Responsibility arrives whether or not a person is prepared for it.
The promise that someone accompanies him changes the meaning of the task. He is not asked to be adequate alone, only to walk forward with the strength he can summon. That is enough to begin. A person grows into a difficult calling by shouldering it, not by waiting until the fear is gone. Take up the weight, and you become able to carry it.
Clinical Psychology lens
What have I decided I am not ready for, that I would grow into by simply starting?
You are given a part to play and you do not choose when it begins. Your only work is to take it up now and play it as well as you can.
The one who sweeps the floor becomes a monk by sweeping. You grow into the practice by doing it, not by qualifying for it first.
Rise and take up what is yours. The capacity you think you lack forms in the carrying, not in the waiting.
Free · No account needed
Lensightful opens every verse of the Bible through the traditions you choose. Save readings, ask a follow-up question, and get one verse a day.
Get Lensightful on the App Store
Clinical Psychology