LEADING, LEARNING, AND LIVING
Joshua 1 gives a strong example of God’s charge to be strong and courageous in life. He repeats this charge to Joshua three different times, each one followed by a different area for Joshua to be strong and courageous in.
These are areas that I am describing as leading, learning, and living. The following is a breakdown of each of those areas and some takeaways of how we might be strong and courageous in our own lives. First, let’s read the text from Joshua 1.
The context of this chapter is that Moses has passed away and God has now given Joshua the charge of leading the Israelites into the promised land. (Joshua 1:1-5 as a reference)
Within the charge that God has given Joshua to lead the people into the land God had given them, God tells Joshua three different times to be strong and courageous.
BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS–TO LEAD
The first time is in Joshua 1:6–“Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.”
God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous–to lead the people where they have to go in order to inherit the land. Leadership takes strength and courage. Leading isn’t telling people what to do; it is walking before them and setting an example.
The greatest form of leadership ever was in Christ going to Calvary. He did not tell us to take up our cross and do something that He didn’t do. Rather, He charges us to take up our cross and follow Him (Matthew 16:24).
Christ has gone before us as our example of a leader. Because of His sacrifice, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3).
PAUSE AND PONDER:
Is there an area of leading in your life that you need to step up and be strong and courageous to be able to position someone else to receive what God has for them? Perhaps it is a family member or someone you lead at work?
If so, lean into that area and be strong and courageous by setting an example for someone to follow. Create space for that person to inherit what God has set forth for them in advance. Leading isn’t easy, but it’s worth it.
BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS–TO LEARN
The second time the Lord tells Joshua to be strong and courageous is in Joshua 1:7-8:
“Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 8 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 good success.”
God promises two things at the end of verse 8. He says after learning to live out the commandments of God, Joshua would then make his way prosperous and have good success.
The world would tell us that being prosperous and having good success is something that would be out of our control. Or, they might define it differently than God would define it.
God defines the win as us living according to the commandments He has set forth in His word. It takes courage to not only learn these commandments but to live them out.
Jesus said that the wise builder hears his words and puts them into practice. (Matthew 7:24)
The book of James tells us to be doers of the words and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves (James 1:22).i
The promise in Joshua 1 and James 1 is that we will be blessed in the doing not just the hearing. James 1:25 says, “But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”
While is the word perseveres in there? Because to do what the perfect law of liberty says to do takes courage. It will be counter-cultural.ii
It takes strength and courage to live out the word of God, which will be manifested in His power in your life.
PAUSE AND PONDER:
Is there any area of the word where you have let it slide according to God’s word? Where you have heard what it is you need to do but you are not actually living it out by doing it? Turn to the Lord in this area and ask for His grace to empower you to live it out.
BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS TO LIVE:
The third time the Lord tells Joshua to be strong and courageous is in Joshua 1:9: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
The key to being strong and courageous in the ups and downs of day-to-day life is the ongoing presence of God. He promises in v. 9 that the Lord God would be with him wherever he goes.
Life is hard. Stuff happens. It’s understandable to get frightened or dismayed. But there is one who is with us that is greater than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4).
When we are frightened (of what could happen or not happen in life) or when we are dismayed (for things not going the way we hoped in spite of our best efforts), it is the presence of our Heavenly Father that reminds us that He is working all things together for the good (Romans 8:28).
Just as God promised to be with Moses and to be with Joshua, He promises to be with us. His presence provides a powerful comfort in the face of discouragement.
PAUSE AND PONDER:
Is there fear or dismay in your heart today? Spend time in the presence of your Heavenly Father. Approach the throne of grace with boldness. Receive comfort from the God of all comfort. (It doesn’t mean that everything gets “fixed”; it will mean that His care supersedes all else as you sit with him today in whatever area or struggle of life you may have.)
WRAP UP:
The book of Joshua gives us three areas of life to be strong and courageous–to lead in the areas that God has called us to lead in; to learn to live out the word of God in the world around us–being doers and not just hearers; and to persevere in the midst of fear and dismay–allowing His presence to be our assurance of walking according to His plan.
i Self-deception says I am the exception. Adam and Eve were not the exception and neither are we. We have to be strong and courageous to not only hear the word but do it. It’s one thing to hear it and understand it. It’s a totally different one to actually live it out.
ii It may even be counter-cultural to a group of believers that have become overly religious in a form of godliness but denying its power (2 Timothy 3:5). The Kingdom of God isn’t in word but in power (1 Corinthians 4:20).
