From Struggle to Triumph: Part 4
From Struggle to Triumph: Part 4 || Day 1
Joshua 1:2-11 NKJV
“Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, “Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’ ”
In our text today we read about Joshua and the children of Israel preparing to cross over the Jordan River and possess the Promised Land. God is telling them to be strong and of good courage, for He is with them. In Deuteronomy, God is warning the children of Israel not to depart from Him when they enter into the promise. In the beginning of Joshua, He is charging them, giving them their marching orders, to possess the land.
If we are not careful, when we read Joshua 1, we can be deceived into believing that it didn’t take any faith for the children of Israel to possess the land. In other words, all they had to do was show up and somehow God would give them victory and they would possess the promise. It’s easy to think this way because you don’t read the words “have faith” in the book of Joshua. But even though you don’t read those words the concept is all throughout the book of Joshua.
What we need to draw our attention to today is the children of Israel, including Joshua, crossed over the Jordan and took the Promised Land off of one word from God. That word was not even spoken to all the people, it was spoken only to Joshua, and he spoke it to all the people. God speaks to Joshua in Joshua 1, and faith in that word is what causes them to possess the land!
Their faith in that word keeps them strong in a land of giants. Faith in that word keeps them protected in a land full of giants. Faith in that word keeps them victorious in a land full of giants. Faith in that word causes them to prosper in a land full of giants. Faith in that word causes them to not fear in a land full of giants. Faith in that word causes them to no longer depend on the arm of the flesh anymore, but to depend on God. Faith in that word causes them to unite and not divide. Faith in that word causes them to go forward and defeat enemies that had never been defeated.
Why are we saying this? Because the same thing that caused them to be prosperous, victorious, and strong is the same thing that will cause us to be prosperous, victorious, and strong. The same thing that caused them to defeat giants in the land is the same thing that will cause us to defeat giants in the land. That is faith in what He has said. Faith in what He has said to us as a corporate body and faith in what He has said to you and your house.
God is bringing this to us today because every time He is about to release the promise to His people, these two things happen: Heaven places a demand on your faith, and hell places an attack on your faith.