Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed. Deuteronomy 31:7-8
The title comes from Navy Seal training where trainees must swim in the shark-inhabited waters of San Clemente Island at night. Admiral William McRaven discussed this principle at the University of Texas. Before the night swim, the instructors brief them on every species of shark inhabiting this particular location. They also assured them that, as far as they are aware, no trainee has ever been eaten by a shark in the night swim. He said, “If a shark begins to circle your position, stand your ground. Do not swim away. Do not act afraid. And if the shark, hungry for a midnight snack, darts toward you, then summon up all your strength and punch him in the snout and he will turn and swim away. There are a lot of sharks in the world. If you hope to complete the swim, you will have to deal with them.”
Metaphorically, the sharks represent life’s many challenges from which we may be tempted to run and hide, but we are sure to fail if we do. In practice, we must “punch the sharks” by confronting life’s challenges head on. The concept is three-fold. First, do not panic and swim away. Next, stand your ground, never exuding fear as it prompts aggression. Finally, confront the threat. This puts you on the offensive, prompting the retreat of the threat.
This concept carries an important spiritual application, one often repeated in the Bible. Sometimes doing God’s bidding on this earth is scary. We will face enemies from within and without (Matthew 10:26-36), but we cannot let fear paralyze us, for such assures our spiritual destruction (Matthew 10:37-39). Being a people of many comforts, this can be especially challenging as we are often able to escape life’s difficulties. Not so in our duty to the Lord, as we must stand our ground. I said a moment ago this principle is often repeated in the Bible. Indeed, it is the most often repeated principle. The phrase, “Fear not” or “Be strong and courageous” or some other variation occurs in the Bible no less than one-hundred times.
One of the most well-known instances of this is when Moses commissioned Joshua to take his place leading the children of Israel into Canaan. In Deuteronomy 31:7-8, he was told to be strong and of good courage “…for you must go with this people to the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it.” Imagine having been a slave in Egypt your entire life and now being commissioned to lead an army of fellow lifetime slaves with zero military experience to overthrow well-armed, fortified cities protected by giants with the most advanced weapons of the time! Yet, Joshua succeeded!
This he did by unswerving trust (faith) in the God who commissioned him to do so (Numbers 14:5-9). Another element in Joshua’s courage (and that of the other heroes of faith) was that his fear was properly directed. In Numbers 14:9, he and Caleb plead with them not to rebel against the Lord. To shy away from their responsibility was to fear the people of the land more than rejecting the Lord (cf. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14). Our fear of departing from the Lord must outweigh our fear of what human beings can do to us (Matthew 10:28). As the Hebrews writer said, “For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:5-6). May we punch the sharks when they encircle us and be found pleasing to God.