Thoughts in Worship

Message Magazine's Online Devotional for Sabbath, May 30, 2015

Based Upon Joshua 1:1-9

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“After the death of Moses the LORD’s servant, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant. He said, “Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you—from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.’ No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”” (Joshua 1:1–9, NLT).

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This passage is so packed with power and promise it’s almost unbelievable. The promises span generations in both directions. We first got an inkling in the Garden of Eden when God promised the Messiah and the power to live through faith in Him (enmity against evil). We then got a clear view of this promise as God worked with the developing faith of His son Abraham. God then used His servant Moses to begin leading the oppressed and entrenched people of God onto greener pastures. And through many great trials, He demonstrated His tremendous watch care over their lives. And now, though Moses was dead, the one whom God had prepared to lead Israel into the Land of Promise as he accompanied Moses all of the way to the pinnacle of the Mount to meet with God many years prior, Joshua was to facilitate the fulfillment of God’s promise. If only he remained faithful to God’s work and followed Him wherever He would lead, Joshua could not fail. All of this was a tiny microcosm of the fulness of the promise that all of God’s people will ultimately experience—eternal life, the inheritance of father Abraham.

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I would also like to make temporal application of this passage. You often hear secular and Christian motivational speakers excitedly proclaim that success is a mindset, and that nothing we set our minds to is impossible. While it is true that we underestimate intentionality and living on purpose, I would like to highlight the real measure and method of lasting success here. God told Joshua, to be strong, courageous, encouraged, and never to be afraid. This is true. This is also a part of the daily self-talk regimens of motivational speakers. And they have demonstrated enormous success. But, let me tell you that even the success of being among the top income earners and thought leaders in the world adopting variations of this model is stunted and small. Yes, I said it. It’s stunted and small. Why? Well, most neglect the true key to success that God gave. He told Joshua to carefully obey all that God had instructed Moses. He told him to meditate on the Law both day and night. He told him to study that Law continually and to never deviate from its holy teachings. Then, and only then, would Joshua experience the prosperity and unlimited success God promised. Then came the kicker: God promised to be with Him!

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Success, real and unlimited success, whether temporal or eternal, is only possible if we experience the enabling power of God’s biddings as we follow all that...