Preparing for the Promise (Part 2)
Preparing for the Promise…(part 2)
QUADRUPLE ORDER OF COURAGE…TO GO!
To continue, we see that God goes on to tell Joshua three times from His own mouth, and yet one more time through Joshua’s army at the end of the chapter, to “be strong, and courageous.” (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9, 17-18) If this were going to be so easy, why would God tell him four different times to be strong and courageous? Do we need to be strong to accomplish a simple or easy task? No, strength is needed for something or a situation that is challenging. And to be courageous is a quality which enables us to face difficulties, dangers, pain, etc. without fear. So, in essence, God is telling Joshua this (if I may paraphrase):
Look, Joshua, I am going to establish you and give you every place that you set your foot upon, but it’s going to be challenging, it’s going to be difficult and you are going to face many potentially dangerous and even painful situations. But I’m telling you right now that it is critical that you lean on me and not be afraid, no matter the circumstances. Fear is going to cloud your ability to hear me. Fear is going to blind you from seeing what I am up to and where I am going, so Joshua it is imperative that you do not yield yourself to fear!
Did God miraculously clear the way for Joshua? You bet He did! However, God only did so as Joshua set himself and the people of Israel to courageously labor in response to what their God had spoken. If indeed God is the same yesterday, today and forever, then the first thing we must realize when seeking to step into the fullness of His promises for us, is that He will require no less of us than he did of Joshua.
Labor, as directed by God, in the face of fear will be required.
THE FOUNDATIONAL WORD
God sets out one final expectation of Joshua before he begins to prepare (labor) to enter into this promise. In Joshua 1:7-8 God tells him this:
“be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.”
If we desire to step into the fullness of God’s promises for us we must not only be ready and willing to labor, but we must also get to know Him through the entirety of His word. Jesus said that He did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. (Matt 5:17-20) We need to get into His Word. We cannot hope to be obedient to His Word if we have never sought to understand it, much less read it.
We are responsible to get the Word of God into us. There’s no excuse.
With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can even understand it as we depend upon Him to teach and instruct us along the way. (John 14:26) It is not the pastor, priest, author or televangelist who is responsible to get it into us. They may be very helpful along the way, but at the end of the day, and at the end of our lives we will be the only ones held accountable for not knowing or pursuing intimacy with God through His Word. It has been made more readily available to us in this present age than at any point in history. It is a crucial ingredient for entering into the fullness of God’s many promises for us throughout our lives. If we choose to do so “then [we] will make [our] way prosperous, and then [we] will have success”! (Joshua 1:8)
In part 3 of this 4 part series, we will begin taking a closer look at Joshua’s RESPONSE to God’s encouragement and instruction…
