Do not alloy thy gold of faith
with the dross of human confidence. (1)
.
God told Joshua to be strong and courageous, but God never told Joshua to have faith in himself.
Most of us believe that we have to have faith in ourselves to be strong and courageous. On the contrary, having faith in yourself, makes you weaker and less brave, especially when the challenge or hurt you face is bigger than you.
Daddy’s tell their little boys to “Be strong!” which really means, “Do not cry! Do not show your weakness!” The poor child is trembling inside, desperate for strength, and his father leaves him shaking in his boots.
I am amazed at the number of Christians who are ashamed of crying out to God. They will exclaim, “It makes me look weak, like I do not have enough faith!”
Have you ever read the Book of Psalms. One third of the psalms are laments, David crying out to God about how awful, how hard, how unfair, how terrible things are. In the flood of his tears he is saying, “Lord, I cannot handle this anymore. Where are you? I am desperate for you!”
Real men cry. So, did Jesus.
Jesus wept when Lazarus died; when he saw the Temple turned into a House of Profit, and in The Garden of Gethsemane.
God sees your tears and hears you calling out to Him, not as a sign of weakness, but rather as a sign of love and trust.
When a child is overcome with sadness, fear, hurt, and trouble, he runs into the arms of the person he loves most and whom he believes loves him the most. That is usually Mom. Do you think Mom embraces her weeping child and thinks, “How pathetic and weak my child is!”
Absolutely not! Instead Mom is embracing her child, soaking up the love of his tears, and graciously comforts him saying, “Be still my child, I love you. I am here. I am your strength!”
As one Mom told me these are the precious moments of motherhood, when your child leans on you and trusts you to comfort, provide, and defend.
When you turn to God in weakness and tears, I can guarantee you, God is beaming.
Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
Psalm 63:7-8
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Bread Crumbs - Devotions for Life 
Very, very true. A beautiful crumb, and tasty too.
Thank you.