In Deuteronomy 1:38 God told Moses to encourage Joshua because he would be the one to"cause Israel to inherit" the land that He had promised to them. In verse 21 of chapter 3 Moses obeyed God and encouraged Joshua by telling him "Your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings; so will the Lord do to all the kingdoms through which you pass." (The two kings were Sihon and Og from chapters 2 and 3.) So, what we have here is God telling one leader to encourage the one who will succeed him; one who had learned from him since his youth. I am sure that encouragement (and discouragement) from Moses carried a lot of weight with Joshua.
God intends for us to do the same and to allow others to do the same for us. There are a few men in my life who I know love me and that I can trust to pray for me and give me Biblical counsel instead of advice. These are men that I want with me when I'm in the trenches. It is easy for me to view these guys as my brothers...especially the one who is in fact my brother. There are many reasons why the Lord puts us together. One of the reasons why these men are in my life is to help encourage, guide and shape me. And as incapable as I may feel, I am here to do the same for them.
Gentlemen, we love to watch movies and read stories about men working together to accomplish something. We are fascinated by the dynamic of men relying on each other, sacrificing for each other and drawing from each other's strength. I have always been a baseball fan and I always thought it must have been cool to be Alan Trammell or Lou Whitaker playing shortstop and second base together on the same team for all those years. I love to read about the Texas Rangers (the lawmen, not the baseball team) defying the odds, seemingly getting in way over their heads, and still getting the bad guys. God has put that fascination in us. To be what we need to be for each other requires humility and it requires love. Don't neglect the brothers in your life who you need. Don't cause someone else to miss what God has for them in you. I think about what would have happened had Moses not encourage Joshua.