No One Can Stand Against Us

For our meditation today we will look at Joshua 1:5, “No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.” (ESV)

These are the words of God to Joshua. The Lord told Joshua that no one would be able to stand against him all the days of his life. These words from God to Joshua signified that no one would be able to rise against him or prevail against him throughout his life. God assured Joshua that he would lead a life of victory.

I am sure that many of us wish that we too should hear these words being spoken to us, and in order to do so we must be willing to learn the lessons that Joshua learnt in order to receive this great blessing from the Lord

If we were to observe as to the time when Joshua received this promise from God, we too will understand that we must come to that same place where Joshua had arrived so that we too can receive this promise from God.

For 40 years Joshua helped Moses, walked with Moses and obeyed Moses. There were times when people plotted against Moses, but Joshua remained a faithful servant who stood by Moses all through this life. When Moses' life had ended only then the leadership was passed onto Joshua.

Joshua was with Moses

It was only at this point that the Lord told Joshua that he would be with him all the days of his life, and that no one could ever stand against him.

We read in Exodus 24:13, “So Moses and his helper, Joshua, went up the mountain of God.” (ERV)

Joshua spent all of his time with Moses, and by being with Moses Joshua had learnt many crucial lessons. Spending 40 years with Moses, and by observing his life closely, Joshua had learnt many valuable lessons.

It is of great importance as to who we spend our time with. We learn a lot from listening to teachings of God’s word from others, but when we spend time alone with God we are definitely able to learn a lot more from God. Also when we spend time with those who are good examples, and associate with those who fear the Lord, we will be able to learn many worthwhile lessons through their lives.

Joshua waited for Moses

We read in Exodus 33:11, “In this way the LORD spoke to Moses face to face like a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would go back to the camp, but his helper, Joshua son of Nun, always stayed in the tent.” (ERV)

When Moses returned from spending time with God, having had this face-to-face encounter with him, Joshua waited for Moses in the tent of meeting. We see that Joshua waited patiently for Moses to return. Oftentimes times the only job that Joshua was expected to do was to wait on Moses.

We live in such a fast-paced world where many are not willing to wait for anything, and want everything to happen immediately.

Joshua was obedient to Moses

We read in Exodus 17:9-10, “So Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some men and go and fight the Amalekites tomorrow. I will stand on the top of the hill and watch you. I will be holding the walking stick God gave me." Joshua obeyed Moses and went to fight the Amalekites the next day.” (ERV)

The third quality that we observe in Joshua was the fact that he was obedient to the leadership of Moses, and did as he was instructed by Moses.

As the people of Israel journeyed through the wilderness for forty years under the leadership of Moses. At one point there was a man named Korah who rose in rebellion against the authority of Moses because he wanted to usurp that position. Korah also rallied along with him two hundred and fifty men who joined him in this insurgency. Though there was a huge number of men who joined hands against Moses, there is no hint that Joshua heeded their words or was in any way part of this rebellious group. Joshua was discerning as to the evil schemes of Korah, and he continued with what God has assigned to him.

We should be cautious to not rise against those whom God had placed in authority over us. There are some trouble-makers who will rise in rebellion, but we must make sure that we submit to these God given authorities. Only when we submit, God will raise us up. There are many like Korah who refuse to obey or submit, and want to exalt themselves. A caution about such people is that they will proclaim that God said something, when in reality God never did. As children of God we need discernment to know what is from God, and what is not from God. We are not called to judge others, but we must have the discernment to perceive the true thoughts and motives of men who are trying to mislead us. If we do not watch out, our lives will surely get derailed in the process. It is better that we do not associate with such people because we can be certain that their victories are short lived. They may appear to be flourishing for a while, but in due course they will vanish out of sight.