Joshua 1:1-4 – 1 Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ servant, saying, 2 "Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. 3 "Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. 4 "From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory.
So what do we see here: We see that Moses has died and God reminds Joshua of this fact. I am sure that Joshua is well aware of this fact because of the death of Moses, Joshua is now in charge. Have you ever been in a position at work or somewhere else where the main person is sick or held up for some reason and now all the sudden you are in charge? You might have been training for that day to come but when it comes – it can take your breath away and sometimes your courage along with it. All the sudden you are standing there with all the responsibility squarely on you. That is the position that Joshua is in – now all the responsibility of leading the people of Israel is squarely on his shoulders.
So God reminds Joshua that Moses dead but also reminds him that He has given them land. There is land right there that is for the taking and all the need to do is go and get it. Joshua is commanded to lead the people into Canaan to claim the land that they had been promised by the Lord. The land was given to them back in Gen. 12:7 and the promise was reaffirmed to every succeeding generation of the nation of Israel. The land was their land! There was no need for them to continue their wandering around in the wilderness. They had a land, all they had to do was to go and take it!
I look around me as I go through my weeks and I see Christians who are defeated, who struggle with sins, who, for all intents and purposes are wandering around in a spiritual wilderness living in fear. It does not have to be that way! God has promised you and I can live in victory but the caveat is that you must live in obedience to Him. Just read verses like 2 Corinthians 2:14 which says: But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. Or read verses like Rom. 8:37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. I believe with all my heart that God did not save you to see you defeated! Most of the time, we are defeated because we refuse to walk in obedience! I am talking about living a life of obedience to Christ which in turn leads us to triumph in Christ and conquering through Him. Let us live the obedient life! Living in obedience is the start to being a courageous Christian.
Have you ever found yourself with responsibility square on your shoulders when you did not expect it? Have you lived in defeat rather than in obedience?
Have to admit that I have lived in defeat instead of obedience more than i care to say. I lived in that defeat because of my disobedience. No doubt about it. I know things in my life are a whole better when I live in favor.
I am right there with you on this my friend.
I spent much of the last 2 years living in defeat. It was a rough time.
It is really rough living in defeat – glad things are better!
I’ve had to fill in for my supervisor at work meetings before, and that’s always nerve racking. It’s funny how we can forget all our training in a split second if we aren’t prepared to trust.
It is funny how all that goes right out the window!
I had to step up and lead a group of students during my junior year in college… our campus ministry had lost its leaders and we were now going to be “student led”. Yikes.
I’m grateful that it was God’s working through all of us, because looking back we were clueless at times.
The best things I have been a part of have been when I was clueless and relying on God!
A Christian can and will struggle, but being in defeat is not “Christian” or it shouldn’t be. I know, in a perfect world. When I read the Bible and everytime Israel fought a war was because of sin and disobedience. Well said Jim. Well said and so true in my life too.
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