The first chapter of Joshua launches with the somber note, “After the death of Moses.”  The absence of their great leader created an immense vacuum and void in the life of the Israelites.  Yet, when the chapter ends, it is not his death that is in view but the fulfillment of their destiny as a people of God.  Loss and victory are two different and distinctive notes on the same keyboard of life.  You can’t experience one without expecting the other.  This message is a reminder that our experience of loss establishes our eligibility and candidacy for victory because God’s plans are unchangeable, God’s presence unshakeable and God’s precepts unbeatable.