(9) “I charge you: Be strong and resolute; do not be terrified or dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
When do you need courage the most?
How can God be with you in those moments?
If God could talk to you in those moments, what do you think God would say?
אמר לו רבי יהודה לא כך היה מעשה אלא זה אומר אין אני יורד תחילה לים וזה אומר אין אני יורד תחילה לים קפץ נחשון בן עמינדב וירד לים תחילה
Rabbi Judah said to [Rabbi Meir] This is not what happened, rather, this [tribe] said, "I will not be the first to go down to the sea," and this one said, "I will not be the first to go down to the sea." Then Nachshon ben Aminadav sprang forward and went down first to the sea
This is one version of what happened at the Red Sea.
Why do you think Nachshon dove into the sea? What gave him the courage?
When have you been like Nachshon?
Adonai watches over the stranger; He gives courage to the orphan and widow, but twists the path of the wicked.
ו וכמו שהיה מחכמת האלוה להסב אותם במדבר עד שילמדו גבורה
It was the result of God's wisdom that the Israelites were led about in the wilderness until they acquired courage.
This comes from a book of philosophy by the Medieval thinker Maimonides.
How can hardship give you courage?
What are some difficult things you have been through, and how did they change your outlook?
May Adonai grant strength to God's people; may Adonai bless God's people with peace.
How are strength and courage related to peace?