Joshua's Strong Start

God is with us, and we can be strong and courageous knowing our God is with us!

Joshua's Strong Start

This week's devotions are written by my son, Bryant Forshee, Lead Student Pastor for Cross Church, Springdale, AR campus.

- Pastor Danny

"After the death of Moses the Lord's servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses's assistant…"

(Joshua 1:1, CSB)

Recently, I finished reading the book of Joshua in my reading plan. I forgot how much I love the book of Joshua; it is faith-filled, has iconic stories, and is an excellent read overall. (The land distribution chapters are a little tough, but I digress.) This week, I want to discuss some lessons from the book of Joshua.

Today, let's begin at the very beginning of Joshua! If you are not familiar with Joshua, he was the leader of Israel after Moses died. Let that sink in for a moment: Joshua is the leader who follows Moses–the same Moses who brought the nation of Israel out of Egypt, who would meet personally with God, who had a covenant with God, and who had a really great name and excellent reputation. Joshua was appointed by God to lead the nation of Israel after Moses died, and here is the first interaction between God and Joshua:

"Moses my servant is dead. Now you and all the people prepare to cross over the Jordan to the land I am giving the Israelites. I have given you every place where the sole of your foot treads, just as I promised Moses. Your territory will be from the wilderness and Lebanon to the great river, the Euphrates River—all the land of the Hittites—and west to the Mediterranean Sea. No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or abandon you. Be strong and courageous, for you will distribute the land I swore to their ancestors to give them as an inheritance. Above all, be strong and very courageous to observe carefully the whole instruction my servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go. This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth; you are to meditate on it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do. Haven't I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

This may be a little more scripture than you usually read in a devotional, but if you just glanced over it, go back and reread it. Look at the underlined portions specifically: what do you notice about them? Something that really sticks out to me about this interaction with Joshua and God is that God gives Joshua clear instructions and great confidence. The clear instruction is what Joshua will DO with the nation of Israel. While this is encouraging and clarifying, look at the confidence that God gives Joshua.

God tells Joshua that He will be with him. The victory is already won because God is with him. Joshua has a strong start in the book of Joshua, not because he is this great military leader and strategist, but because the great and strong God is with him, and God has made that abundantly clear to him. Followers of Jesus–those of you in Christ Jesus–the same God that was with Joshua in the book of Joshua is with you today. The promise of clearing land and physical battle victories may not be applicable to you, but the truth that God is with you and that we can be strong and courageous knowing our God is with us is absolutely true. If you are a follower of Jesus, know that God is with you today.

Whatever today looks like, God is with you.
If today has a lot to do and a lot of things on the calendar, God is with you.
If today is chill and doesn't have a lot of things on the calendar, God is with you.
If today is a dreaded day, God is with you.
If today is a blessed day, God is with you.

Never get over the truth that the God of the universe is with us as we go about our day!

Joshua Challenge: If you're up for it, try to read the whole book of Joshua this week! Read Joshua 1-6 today!

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Podcast of the Week

A Leader of Leaders, with Jarrett Stephens

Pastor Danny welcomes to the show his friend Pastor Jarrett Stephens of Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston, TX, to discuss godly and biblical leadership, his own experience with it, and the principles he lives and leads by.

Listen on your preferred platform: