After wandering for 40 years in the desert, a new generation is ready to enter Canaan. But first, God prepares both Joshua and the nation by teaching them the importance of courageous and consistent faith. Once courageous and consistent faith has been established, the nation miraculously crosses the Jordan River to begin the long-awaited conquest of the Promised Land. Like Joshua, we too need consistent and courageous faith to march to our Promises.
Joshua 1:1-9
After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them– to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, The Eupratese– all the Hittite country– to the Great Sea on the west. No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with youp I will never leave you nor forsake you.
Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 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. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth 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. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Be Strong and Courageous: Have Faith and Believe
Get your supplies ready
In verse 10, Joshua spoke to the officers of the people: “Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.”
If you pursue a life of self-development, you’ve probably heard it said, “Action creates clarity.” It’s entirely true. You have to have faith that God is going to do what he said he’s going to do, and you have to take the action he’s calling you to in order to see the promises. Promises don’t land on our door steps. We have to run to the thing he’s calling to.
If you’re like me though, you can get into analysis paralysis where you over-analyze the next step to the point of stopping altogether. That’s when I love to remind myself of the verse, “Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. […] I will never leave you nor forsake you.” If we are honest with ourselves and dial down into the truth of why we’re stopping ourselves from taking the next step, it’s usually rooted in fear:
“What if I fail again?”
“What if nobody buys?”
“What if I’m marching to nothing?”
“What if they make fun of me?”
“What if I don’t know enough?”
“What if the resources don’t come?”
You could go on and on. The point is, that if you go back to what you truly believe the Lord is calling you to do, you can trust that HE will be faithful to get you there. This isn’t something you can do in your own might or power. It’s driven by his holy spirit. So, knowing that- what can you rest in today?
There’s nothing you can do to mess this up.
Stay faithful to where you are with what you’ve been given. Stay faithful in the next step. Take your plans to him daily. Submit what you think is best to him, and give him permission to show you because HE’ll SHOW YOU. You can bet on that.
Have faith (take action) and believe (what God said to you back in the beginning). He will clarify your steps, your alignments, and it’ll be bigger than anything you ever dreamt it would be.
XO,
jess
(Photo courtesy of Sunil Ray, Unsplash)
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