Joshua Day 1
Read Joshua 1:1-9
Let’s take a quick recap of where we’ve been over the past few weeks. Remember Abram, later turned to Abraham, and the promise God made to him back in Genesis?
Genesis 15:12-21
12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”
17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”
About 680 years has passed since God promised Abram that this land would belong to the Israelites and finally it is coming to pass. The Israelites walked through slavery in Egypt, they rebelled against God and broke the Ten Commandments He gave them, they turned and worshipped idols and other gods, they were so stubborn that God made them wander for 40 years in the book of Numbers before they came back to the Promised Land. After all this time, they’ve made it. But just because they’ve arrived in the Promised Land doesn’t mean that they get to coast from here. Actually, it’s quite the opposite.
Joshua is the new leader of the Israelites, and the Lord is speaking to him before they enter the Promised Land in chapter 1.
Joshua 1:7-8
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.
God is reminding Joshua that even though it seems like they have arrived, Joshua must be careful to not take his foot off the gas pedal. Keep striving to honor me, keep meditating on my Word, fight to not turn away from me.
There are times in our life where we feel like we have arrived. Maybe we grow in our faith in a significant way or we see God move powerfully in our life to accomplish a purpose. Then instead of fighting to stay in that place, we take our foot off the gas and begin to coast in our walk with the Lord. Be encouraged today by the Lord’s command to Joshua. Don’t stop fighting the good fight of remaining obedient to the Lord and walking in the Spirit daily!
Questions to consider.
Has there been a time that you’ve “coasted” in your faith? What type of events or circumstances make you want to coast in your faith?
What does it look like for you personally to fight every day to stay strong in your walk with Jesus and surrender to the power of the Holy Spirit in your life? What practical things can you do?
Take a moment in prayer and ask God to give you the strength to keep following Him. Ask Him to show you any areas in your life that you feel like you have “arrived” and need to change your heart and mindset.
Let’s take a quick recap of where we’ve been over the past few weeks. Remember Abram, later turned to Abraham, and the promise God made to him back in Genesis?
Genesis 15:12-21
12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”
17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— 19 the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, 20 Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, 21 Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”
About 680 years has passed since God promised Abram that this land would belong to the Israelites and finally it is coming to pass. The Israelites walked through slavery in Egypt, they rebelled against God and broke the Ten Commandments He gave them, they turned and worshipped idols and other gods, they were so stubborn that God made them wander for 40 years in the book of Numbers before they came back to the Promised Land. After all this time, they’ve made it. But just because they’ve arrived in the Promised Land doesn’t mean that they get to coast from here. Actually, it’s quite the opposite.
Joshua is the new leader of the Israelites, and the Lord is speaking to him before they enter the Promised Land in chapter 1.
Joshua 1:7-8
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.
God is reminding Joshua that even though it seems like they have arrived, Joshua must be careful to not take his foot off the gas pedal. Keep striving to honor me, keep meditating on my Word, fight to not turn away from me.
There are times in our life where we feel like we have arrived. Maybe we grow in our faith in a significant way or we see God move powerfully in our life to accomplish a purpose. Then instead of fighting to stay in that place, we take our foot off the gas and begin to coast in our walk with the Lord. Be encouraged today by the Lord’s command to Joshua. Don’t stop fighting the good fight of remaining obedient to the Lord and walking in the Spirit daily!
Questions to consider.
Has there been a time that you’ve “coasted” in your faith? What type of events or circumstances make you want to coast in your faith?
What does it look like for you personally to fight every day to stay strong in your walk with Jesus and surrender to the power of the Holy Spirit in your life? What practical things can you do?
Take a moment in prayer and ask God to give you the strength to keep following Him. Ask Him to show you any areas in your life that you feel like you have “arrived” and need to change your heart and mindset.