In Joshua 1 God commands Joshua 3 times to be courageous.
At the end of the chapter, the people give Joshua the same encouragement, promising to follow him wholeheartedly.
This sequence is significant.

It’s impossible to retain encouragement from others
if you don’t first receive your encouragement from God.

I’ve had some seasons in my (young) life where I’ve found myself running around to everybody in my life trying to get them to validate me.
I desperately wanted to hear them affirm:
“You made the right call…”
“Everything’s going to be okay in this situation”
“You have nothing to worry about”
“You’re right, and the other person is wrong”

The confusing part came when they said the words I thought I needed to hear, and it still wasn’t enough to set my mind at ease.
Looking back, I think I was looking for others to provide me with a level of encouragement that can only come from God.

When we seek validation from others above the validation that comes from God alone, we cannot contain the encouragement, because our hearts are leaking.
Only the Spirit and the Word can repair the plumbing from the inside out.

The affirmation of others can make a wonderful supplement to the affirmation of God.
But it makes a terrible substitute.