Three years ago, I got a call from BTS to come serve as her lead servant. My reaction – I was so afraid. Courage is not something I have in abundance. My devotional journal entries constantly remind me of my lack. Well, for ordinary people like me, the book of Joshua has good news. After all, he fought giants and won.

Joshua did not start out as a man without fear. By the banks of Jordan, God only gave one clear command to Joshua – “do not be terrified”. Joshua started out his journey – terrified and discouraged. God had to repeat four words three times in Chapter 1 “be strong and courageous”. But by Josh 11:15, we witness a different Joshua – “Just as the LORD had commanded Moses His servant, …, and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses.”

Joshua successfully and courageously navigated his journey from wilderness Survival to the promised Revival through the valley of fear.

What is Joshua’s secret to courage? Joshua had no supernatural battle plan nor weapons of mass destruction from God. All he had were three simple instructions in verses 7 to 9. Let me summarise. ‘Submit to My word. Be courageous. Experience My presence.’

Courage to leave Survival behind and travel towards Revival began with the decision to submit to God’s word/will. The Shogun’s castle provides an apt illustration. In the ancient castle of Shogun, the outer doors are usually a meter too low for an average man to enter. To enter, one must lower his head and pass through headfirst. In the process, one exposes one’s neck to the Shogun’s sword – a symbol of submitting one’s life in his hand. There is no journey from Survival to Revival without resubmitting our lives to God’s hand and obeying His will.

American author Erwin McManus once said – “how many times have we pointed to not knowing God’s will as the reason we are paralysed … The problem is not that we don’t know what to do, but that we don’t do what we know”. God said to Joshua: “Be careful to do … do not turn to the right or the left.” The key to our journey towards Revival is not more revelation for direction but courage to submit to what we already know.

Courage to continue our journey is because of God’s presence. Like Joshua, God will not save you from the giants (or the fire), but in fact throw you into it (crossing the river Jordan means battle with the giants). Very often, our journey will have no clear roadmap. All we have is the promise of God’s presence (I will go with you) and an internal moral compass shaped by His word. Fear grips us when we value our safety over God’s journey. McManus again wrote: “Courage is not the absence of fear, it is the absence of self … courage allows us to live free from self-preservation … courage frees us from the fears that would rob us of life itself.” Fear stops our journey. Courage sets us free to journey to Revival and it is His presence (for I will go with you) that gives us courage.

When my wife and I were praying to return to Singapore to serve in BTS, we were having a family crisis in America and were afraid to leave our family behind. One day my wife was praying during a rainstorm in a silent retreat and out of the blue God gave her this verse from Isaiah 43:2, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you.” We were still afraid, but God’s promise of His presence gave us the courage to face our fear and journey onwards. Upon arrival, there were giants to fight – a half empty school due to the pandemic, red ink in the beginning, faculty recruitment due to visa issues, sleepless night not knowing what to do. But God’s presence has sustained us.

Dear friends, as we look forward to this post-pandemic season, my prayer is that we will all courageously desire and experience Revival through submitting to God’s will while resting in His presence.

As BTS continues to journey from Survival towards Revival, please pray for us in the following:

1. BTS Lectures 2023 From Survival to Revival: Please pray for Dr John Ortberg as he prepares to minister to us on 14 October. Do register.
2. Project Mission: Pray for courageous wisdom as we continue to draw up the blueprint for the transformation into a missional school.
3. MAP (Ministry Advancement Programme): Pray for lay leadership teams from three churches to join us in January’s cohort intake.
4. MEP (Ministry Emergence Programme): Praise God that the January intake is fully taken up. Please pray that the participants would have a meaningful time of learning.

Rev Peter Lin
President