YEAR 2, WEEK 22, Day 2, Tuesday, 27 May 2025

https://esv.literalword.com/?q=Joshua+1

Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Tuesday, 27 May 2025:

Joshua 1:1–2 – “After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua… ‘Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan… into the land that I am giving to them.'”

The baton of leadership passes from Moses to Joshua. God’s words are striking: “Moses my servant is dead.” This is both a solemn declaration and a divine commissioning. Joshua is called not to mimic Moses, but to faithfully follow God into a new chapter. Leadership in God’s kingdom always builds on the past while moving forward in faith.

• Deuteronomy 31:7–8 – “Be strong and courageous… It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you.”
• 2 Timothy 2:2 – “What you have heard… entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.”

Joshua 1:5-9 — “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. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 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. 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. 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 Israelites were preparing to enter a foreign land and face mighty adversaries. Remember how the spies described the land and its inhabitants — “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.” (Numbers 13:22-23) God told Joshua to be “strong and courageous,” but not primarily in battle before human enemies, rather in obedience to His word – “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.” Remember what Jesus said, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples…. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.” (John 15:7-8, 16) When your will is God’s will, and your ways are God’s ways, nothing, nothing at all, can stop you. Trust in the LORD and you need not fear anyone or anything.

What is your success plan? Where does Bible study and application fit into your plan? On what are you meditating day and night? What are you using to decide your course? When you are particularly challenged, do you spend more time with the Lord or less? “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” (Martin Luther)

• Psalm 20:7 — Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
• Psalm 56:4 — In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?
• Jeremiah 17:5 — Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord.”
• Isaiah 40:31 — But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
• Isaiah 26:3-4 — You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.
• Isaiah 43:2 — When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
• Proverbs 16:20 — Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.
• Psalm 119:165 — Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.
• 2 Corinthians 5:7 — For we walk by faith, not by sight.
• Galatians 6:9 — And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
• Psalm 9:10 — And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
• Psalm 28:7 — The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.
• Psalm 112:7 — He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.
• Psalm 37:5 — Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.
• Hebrews 11:6 — And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
• Isaiah 41:10 — Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
• Jeremiah 17:7-8 — “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
• Psalm 91:1-16 — He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, …
• Proverbs 16:3 — Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

Joshua’s strength was not rooted in his own might but in God’s promises and presence. Three times God tells him, “Be strong and courageous.” This is not a call to self-confidence, but to trust God’s Word and cling to His presence. Meditation on Scripture—not military tactics—is the path to success.

• Psalm 1:2–3 – “His delight is in the law of the LORD… in all that he does, he prospers.”
• Matthew 28:20 – “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Joshua had long been Moses’ assistant, but now the full weight of leadership rested on his shoulders. God reminded him that the mission had not changed. The same God who parted the Red Sea would part the Jordan. The land was still the promised inheritance. What Joshua needed most was not a new plan, but renewed trust.

The phrase “Be strong and courageous” resounds throughout the chapter. Strength, in God’s kingdom, flows from obedience to His Word. Courage is born not from the absence of fear, but from the assurance of God’s presence. Joshua is told to meditate on the Book of the Law “day and night.” He was to speak it, think it, live it. This is the same charge for every Christian. Our courage must be tied to the unshakable promises of God. Like Joshua, we are to “arise” into the tasks God places before us, knowing He has already gone before us.

Leadership in God’s kingdom is not inherited; it is entrusted. When God calls us to a task, He equips us with His Word and assures us of His presence. Even when we feel inadequate or overwhelmed, we are never alone. God did not ask Joshua to be Moses—He asked him to be faithful.

This applies to all seasons of transition in life—new responsibilities, unknown futures, or shifting roles. God’s presence remains the constant. When His Word is in our minds and mouths, we can step forward in confidence.

• Philippians 1:6 – “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
• Isaiah 41:10 – “Fear not, for I am with you… I will strengthen you, I will help you.”

Finally, we must stop and recognize, meditate upon, the fact that with God’s great blessings and gifts come new challenges, not curses, new challenges as part of the great blessings. When God miraculously freed the Israelites from slavery and caused the Egyptians to give them provisions for their journey (Exodus 12:36), they immediately faced the challenge of a harsh desert without adequate food and water (apart from God’s daily miraculous provision). Was God cursing the people immediately upon blessing them? Despite the fact that some interpreted their situation this way, God was blessing them with this great challenge to draw them closer to Himself (Exodus 19:4) while building them into a mighty nation who would be ready to receive even greater blessings.

Now, God is going to miraculously bless the Israelites by giving them the promised land, “”a land flowing with milk and honey.” This was a land of vital strategic significance, a fertile land, well-suited for agriculture and animal husbandry, situated on a land bridge connecting Europe, Asia, and Africa, making it a vital crossroads for trade and travel. Control of the promised land promised to make Israel a mighty, influential nation which would lend to many and borrow from none, but again, this great blessing came with new challenges, not curses, challenges – fierce, well trained, well equipped, entrenched enemies and mighty giants. Only Joshua and Caleb would receive God’s gifts, along with the challenges, in a wholehearted way, with faith, trust, courage, strength, gratitude, and confidence. Unfortunately, we will read that the rest of the Israelites never fully embraced the challenges (God’s assignment attached to the blessing) and, therefore, never received the promised land in its totality – they never reached the full potential God had intended for them.

So, how do you view, and how to you respond to, the challenges God has placed in your life as part of His great blessings for you? Are you grateful or do you grumble? To receive the fullness of God’s blessings in your life, you must learn not just to accept your challenges but to embrace them as part of God’s gift to you which are provided to build you up into the kind of person He always intended you to be (Romans 8:28-29). Remember, it is not happening “to” you, it is happening “for” you; and whatever isn’t working “for” you is working “on” you as a refiner’s fire.

• 1 Peter 1:6-7 — In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 27 May 2025: “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.” (Joshua 1:9) Are you standing on the edge of something new—maybe a leadership role, a difficult decision, or a step of obedience that feels intimidating? Don’t shrink back. Revisit God’s promises. Appreciate and embrace the gift of the challenge associated with the great blessing. Meditate on His Word—not just once, but day and night. Write Joshua 1:9 somewhere visible today and repeat it aloud when fear or doubt creeps in. Thank God for past mentors like Moses, but also ask Him to help you step into your calling with courage. Reach out to someone who needs encouragement and share this promise with them. Pray: “Lord, thank You that I do not face this challenge alone. You have called me, and You will go with me. Let Your Word shape my thoughts, my words, and my steps. Help me to be strong—not in myself, but in You. Amen.”