I've had a lifelong obsession with comic superheroes. And the one thing that all of my favorite superheroes have in common is courage. Courage seems to be the defining characteristic for the superhero. Perhaps it's easier to have courage if you can leap tall buildings in a single bound, if you're faster than a speeding bullet, or if you have the powers of a genetically modified spider.

But none of us have super powers (yet). And if you're anything like me, fear, more than courage is an overwhelming friend.

Fear has often held me back from doing things. It allows insecurities to seep into my mind and heart: Maybe I'm not good enough, smart enough, good-looking enough, funny enough, eloquent enough.

Because of fear's paralyzing nature, I know too well what it's like to live vicariously through the adventures of someone else who has confronted it and won.

If we're not careful, we can let the voices that accompany fear define us.

That's right, you really aren't good enough. Told you, you're not smart enough.

And perhaps that's what Joshua was going through when he inherited the leadership role from Moses. We're introduced to Joshua as "Moses' helper."

You're nothing but an assistant — how do you think you can run an entire nation of people? Moses — he did great things! He went mano a mano with Pharaoh and won! Parted the Red Sea! Brought forth water from a rock — twice! He saw God face to face! Who are you?

Those are some big sandals to fill.

On top of that, Joshua now has to lead the people through occupied lands and be ready to fight and conquer — something Moses didn't really have to do. What a daunting task for anyone, let alone an assistant. And he must've been afraid for God tells him not once, not twice, but three times to be "brave and strong" and on top of that, tells him, "Don't be alarmed or terrified."

Pastor Erwin McManus says that Joshua was confronted with the question "Who do you have the courage to become?"

The truth is, we can easily let ourselves be defined by others. We can also just as easily be defined by the worst moments of our history.

Joshua could've caved in to the fears and doubts he may have wrestled with. But he took God's words to heart and had the courage to redefine himself. He started as a helper of Moses and died as a champion for God and Israel — because he trusted in God's definition of Joshua. Joshua was always God's champion; that's why God called him.

I believe the same goes for us. We're already God's champion and that is why God has called us. The problem is, we often listen to the wrong voice — the wrong narrative. We listen to the naysayers; we listen to our doubts; we listen to the scars that plague our heart; we listen to the mistakes that were made. We let our past define us rather than describe us.

God was promising to be with Joshua wherever he went, just as God had been there for Moses. God was telling Joshua to not be afraid and to have the courage to become who he was called to become.

That goes for us, too.

God is with you. God is for you. Who can be against you? So be brave and strong and have the courage to overcome your fears and your perceived limitations and become the person God has called you to become!

Because the God-given truth, expressed succinctly by David Lose, is this: "You are a child of God, deserving of love and respect. And God will use you to change the world."

Take a moment to repeat that. Repeat it every day and as often as you need to be reminded of it. Let it be your starting point. Let it be what defines you. If you accept it, trust in it, believe in it — God can truly use you to change the world.

The question, then, remains. Who do you have the courage to become?