--- id: 20150301_basics_maintaining_control title: BLOG - Basics of Maintaining Control category: Biblical Life Counsel predicted_narrative_arc: emergency-courage-from-scripture sentiment: Steady emotions: - Courageous - Pastoral - Instructive keypoints: - First emergency flying rule is to maintain control when everything comes apart - Moses' charge to Joshua in Deuteronomy 31:6 is Dean's foundation for courage - Grandfather gave Dean that verse when he was en route to Vietnam - Memorizing the verse proved helpful across life's emergencies - Like an oak tree, maintain strength through every storm summary: > Dean Rush applies the first rule of flying emergencies — maintain control — to life crises. He points to Moses' charge to Joshua in Deuteronomy 31:6, the verse his grandfather gave him on the way to Vietnam: be strong and courageous because the Lord goes with you and will not abandon you. He urges readers to memorize it and stand like an oak through every storm. tags: - blog - human-resources - emergency - courage - deuteronomy-31 - joshua - vietnam - flying - control - dean-rush sycophancy: 0 truth_score: 9 entropy: 3 sample: false consent: owner_approved agent: blog created: '2015-03-01' updated: '2026-09-09T00:00:00Z' vault_stage: 07_CODEX headwaters: BLOG prefix: BLOG enrich_status: ok enrich_blockers: [] enrich_method: manual pipeline_filename: BLOG_2015-03-01_basics-of-maintaining-control.md source_kind: blog_article proposed_topic: Wisdom lane: Wisdom voice: desk active_voice: desk voices: - desk routing_source: carbon corpus_topic: Wisdom content_status: active date: '2015-03-01' share_url: https://deanrush.net/blog/basics-of-maintaining-control source_url: https://deanrush.net/blog/basics-of-maintaining-control site_category: Human Resources archive_month: 2015-03 description: > Dean ties the first flying emergency rule — maintain control — to Deuteronomy 31:6 courage received from his grandfather before Vietnam. --- # Basics of Maintaining Control **Author:** Dean Rush **Original post:** [deanrush.net/blog/basics-of-maintaining-control](https://deanrush.net/blog/basics-of-maintaining-control) **Archive month:** March 2015 · **Site category:** Human Resources > Voice note: Everything under **Dean's article** is Dean's original prose (lightly cleaned of HTML/image artifacts only). Sections marked **Biblical foundations**, **Scholar sidebar**, **Takeaways**, and **First-time learner** are enrichment for Asker / first readers — not Dean speaking. --- ## Biblical foundations (preface) Dean names the hardest first move in an emergency — maintain control — and grounds it in Moses' charge to Joshua: be strong and courageous because God goes with you. The enrichment below does not replace his grandfather story or flying metaphor; it shows the wider biblical frame for a first-time reader. | Dean's claim | Scriptural undercarriage | | --- | --- | | Control begins with courage under God, not self-hype | "Be strong and courageous… for the Lord your God goes with you" (Deuteronomy 31:6); same charge repeated to Joshua (Joshua 1:6–9) | | Fear is met by God's presence, not denial | "Do not fear, for I am with you" (Isaiah 41:10); perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18) | | Strength is for imperfect people in hard places | God's power perfected in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9–10); stand firm in the Lord (Ephesians 6:10) | | Storms require rooted perseverance | The righteous flourish like a tree planted by water (Psalm 1:3; Jeremiah 17:7–8) | --- ## Dean's article ### First rule when an emergency arises In an earlier article we briefly discussed the first rule of flying when an emergency arises. ![Oak tree image from Dean's original post](https://deanrush.net/Portals/0/images/article/tree-402953_640.jpg) The first action is to MAINTAIN CONTROL and most people say that is the toughest part of an emergency situation. How do you maintain control when everything is coming apart around your life? I have discovered that the first thing you have to do is be strong and follow the instructions that Moses gave to Joshua in Deuteronomy 31:6. Moses was handing over his command of the entire Israeli army to Joshua. Joshua did not feel qualified or experienced enough to handle the task as he had always relied on Moses to make the right decision when the army faced tough situations. Moses gave Joshua the advice in that bible verse that was relayed to me by grandfather when I was en route to Vietnam. My grandfather asked me if I was scared to go into combat. He then told me to memorize the verse. Moses said, "Be strong and Courageous, do not be afraid, because the Lord, your God goes with you and will not abandon you, even in the face of your enemy..." The verse is very truthful because it reiterates the strength of the Lord is not for other people or perfect situations. His strength is ever present even when we face the toughest encounters. Sounds simple but having courage provides a great foundation for making the correct decision in any situation. After my grandfather's recommendation, I did memorize that verse and have found it extremely helpful as emergency situations have popped up in my life. Recommend you memorize it as well. Like the oak tree, maintain strength through every storm in life. We will discuss the next step in handling emergencies in the next article. > **Scholar sidebar — Deuteronomy 31:6 and the oak** > Moses' charge comes at succession: Joshua must lead without Moses' visible hand. The Hebrew emphasis is presence — Yahweh goes with you and will not leave or forsake you — so courage is relational, not bravado. Joshua 1:6–9 repeats the charge and ties it to meditating on the Book of the Law. Dean's grandfather transmitting that verse before Vietnam is classic faith handoff (cf. Deuteronomy 6:6–7; 2 Timothy 1:5). The oak image matches Psalm 1:3 and Jeremiah 17:7–8: rooted trust outlasts weather. Supporting Dean means urging the same memorization without inventing a fuller combat narrative than he gives. --- ## Takeaways 1. **Maintain control first.** In flying and in life, the opening emergency move is not flailing — it is staying under control. 2. **Courage is commanded with a reason.** Deuteronomy 31:6 pairs "be strong" with God's accompanying presence. 3. **Family faith transmission.** A grandfather's verse before Vietnam became a lifelong emergency tool. 4. **Strength is for hard, imperfect moments.** Dean insists the Lord's strength is not reserved for easy people or easy days. 5. **Memorize and stand like an oak.** The practical ask is internalization of Scripture and rooted perseverance through storms. --- ## First-time learner ### What is Dean saying in one sentence? When life comes apart, maintain control by taking courage from God's promised presence — memorize Deuteronomy 31:6 the way Dean's grandfather taught him. ### Why Deuteronomy 31:6? Because Joshua felt unqualified at a handoff of command, and Moses answered fear with God's nearness — the same answer Dean needed before combat and still uses in emergencies. ### Key verses to read with this post - **Deuteronomy 31:6** — Be strong and courageous; God goes with you. - **Joshua 1:6–9** — The charge repeated with Word meditation. - **Isaiah 41:10** — Do not fear; I am with you. - **2 Corinthians 12:9–10** — Strength in weakness. - **Ephesians 6:10** — Be strong in the Lord. - **Psalm 1:3 / Jeremiah 17:7–8** — Tree rooted by water through heat and storm. ### A simple practice (Dean's challenge made concrete) Memorize Deuteronomy 31:6 this week. When anxiety spikes, speak it aloud before you decide anything else — then take the next controlled action. ### How this feeds Ask Dean This post is seed material for questions such as: *What is Dean's first emergency rule? What verse did his grandfather give him? How does flying relate to courage?* Answers should keep Dean's voice primary and use the scholar notes only as supporting biblical scaffolding.