Joshua 1:7-9
New International Version (NIV)
7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Before we move on to meditating on these lines, let us form a background of the circumstances leading up to this event. Moses, who was leading the twelve tribes of Israel, died at the age of a hundred and twenty in Moab and left behind the entire nation to Joshua. Joshua, who was he son of Moses’ aid, was to lead God’s people across the Jordan and into the Promised Land. Now that it was time to carry out this mammoth task, God called Joshua and gave him these words of encouragement. For further details and insight into the matter I would suggest you read the Bible.
At this point we should be reminded of God’s promise in Deuteronomy 31:3 where God spoke to Moses regarding His plans for Israel, “The Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land...” This task that Israel was to undertake under the leadership of Joshua was no walk in the park. The land across Jordan was inhabited by other nations. But God had promised to personally take care of the situation long before they would cross the river Jordan. He had also anointed Joshua with the spirit of wisdom when Moses had laid hands on him. So it’s not that they were going on their own and the almighty had a third person perspective. NO! God went ahead of them so that they would have no trouble what so ever. Now don’t you for even a moment think that the people of Israel did not have any apprehensions about this plan. But they trusted God and knew better than to doubt the Lord and his ways. We have a great lesson to learn in all of this. Whenever we have a situation in our life, whenever we have a seemingly impossible task at hand or whenever there is a problem, all we need to do is trust in Him and rest assured, this might God who went ahead into the Promised Land and prepared it for the people of Israel, will also help you and me. He will fight our fights, He will take up all the issues that trouble us and He will give us more rest than we deserve.
This blessing of divine help however, does have a small condition along with it. Verse eight talks about keeping God’s command. God tells Joshua to keep the book of the law on his lips always and not to turn from it either way. How many of us today take time to read the word of God everyday? How many of us are watchful of our ways to see if they are approved by the laws that God gave Moses? We as believers in Christ have a great responsibility of not only acquainting ourselves with the bible, but also living according to it. In my very own experience I have witnessed how God showered his choicest of blessings upon me as I kept His commands. There is no joy greater than that of His presence and that presence comes only when you have the word of God present in your life. We need to read and meditate upon the Bible everyday if we genuinely want to understand God, His promises, His prescribed way of life and quite simply our very own life. If we do this, there is no force that can (or even dare to) stop us from receiving the comfort and rest that God has promised his faithful servants.
In the end, Joshua led Israel into the promised land with not a scratch on any of the people. It did take him sometime to accomplish this feat but God personally saw to the well-being and prosperity of all the people and raised Joshua in the eyes of all the Israelites. Why? simply because he had obeyed the Lord and every command that was given to him. Such are the rewards of obedience.
Just as God commanded Joshua to be strong and courageous, He turns to us today. He COMMANDS us to have faith in him and god ahead and face the challenge at hand. It all depends on us now whether we want to follow His lead and cross the river or miss out on the promised land only because we feel that we will be fighting the battles of life alone. Let us not doubt. Just remember, God will never put you in a situation if he won't be able to sustain you there. I will end with just one last note: be strong, be courageous.
--
Pio Colaco
Chief Piologist
Piology pvt. ltd.
New International Version (NIV)
7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Before we move on to meditating on these lines, let us form a background of the circumstances leading up to this event. Moses, who was leading the twelve tribes of Israel, died at the age of a hundred and twenty in Moab and left behind the entire nation to Joshua. Joshua, who was he son of Moses’ aid, was to lead God’s people across the Jordan and into the Promised Land. Now that it was time to carry out this mammoth task, God called Joshua and gave him these words of encouragement. For further details and insight into the matter I would suggest you read the Bible.
At this point we should be reminded of God’s promise in Deuteronomy 31:3 where God spoke to Moses regarding His plans for Israel, “The Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land...” This task that Israel was to undertake under the leadership of Joshua was no walk in the park. The land across Jordan was inhabited by other nations. But God had promised to personally take care of the situation long before they would cross the river Jordan. He had also anointed Joshua with the spirit of wisdom when Moses had laid hands on him. So it’s not that they were going on their own and the almighty had a third person perspective. NO! God went ahead of them so that they would have no trouble what so ever. Now don’t you for even a moment think that the people of Israel did not have any apprehensions about this plan. But they trusted God and knew better than to doubt the Lord and his ways. We have a great lesson to learn in all of this. Whenever we have a situation in our life, whenever we have a seemingly impossible task at hand or whenever there is a problem, all we need to do is trust in Him and rest assured, this might God who went ahead into the Promised Land and prepared it for the people of Israel, will also help you and me. He will fight our fights, He will take up all the issues that trouble us and He will give us more rest than we deserve.
This blessing of divine help however, does have a small condition along with it. Verse eight talks about keeping God’s command. God tells Joshua to keep the book of the law on his lips always and not to turn from it either way. How many of us today take time to read the word of God everyday? How many of us are watchful of our ways to see if they are approved by the laws that God gave Moses? We as believers in Christ have a great responsibility of not only acquainting ourselves with the bible, but also living according to it. In my very own experience I have witnessed how God showered his choicest of blessings upon me as I kept His commands. There is no joy greater than that of His presence and that presence comes only when you have the word of God present in your life. We need to read and meditate upon the Bible everyday if we genuinely want to understand God, His promises, His prescribed way of life and quite simply our very own life. If we do this, there is no force that can (or even dare to) stop us from receiving the comfort and rest that God has promised his faithful servants.
In the end, Joshua led Israel into the promised land with not a scratch on any of the people. It did take him sometime to accomplish this feat but God personally saw to the well-being and prosperity of all the people and raised Joshua in the eyes of all the Israelites. Why? simply because he had obeyed the Lord and every command that was given to him. Such are the rewards of obedience.
Just as God commanded Joshua to be strong and courageous, He turns to us today. He COMMANDS us to have faith in him and god ahead and face the challenge at hand. It all depends on us now whether we want to follow His lead and cross the river or miss out on the promised land only because we feel that we will be fighting the battles of life alone. Let us not doubt. Just remember, God will never put you in a situation if he won't be able to sustain you there. I will end with just one last note: be strong, be courageous.
--
Pio Colaco
Chief Piologist
Piology pvt. ltd.
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