God Is with Us(Joshua 1:5-9)

Joshua 1:5-9

 In the first chapter of Joshua, we read that God is telling Joshua to be strong and courageous. God is commanding Joshua to be this way because God is with him. It is not that Joshua cannot experience God unless he is strong and courageous, but rather, Joshua should be strong and courageous because God is already with us.

Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:6-7, 9 NIV

 We read that God commands Joshua three times to be strong and courageous so that Joshua would be victorious.

 

1.       We must fight a spiritual battle. There are sinful desires that we need to fight. In fact, because is in you, evil cannot coexist in you. Because God is in you, you can be successful. In addition, we must fight in the place that God has put us. We experience defeats all the time in this world as parents, workers or any job God has placed us in, but we must endure and continue knowing that God has won the fight.

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Joshua 1:8 NIV

 

2. We need to meditate on God's word constantly. Moses made mistakes and eventually he could not enter the promised land. Yet, Moses is called a great leader by God. Moses also communicated with God. He spoke with God whenever there were problems. Moses had his quiet time with God and so must we do this. It is not enough to just speak to God in our prayers, but we must also listen to God. God speaks to us in many ways. The word of God is the best way to hear God. We need to read through the Bible and meditate on what God is saying.

 

3. We must keep the law. It is not enough to know the law; we must practice the law. Moses followed God's commandments. Although we may be fixed, we still need to follow the law. It is like having your car repaired because of neglect. After getting your repaired car, you neglect it again until it breaks down. After salvation, we still need to follow the laws. The laws will not save us, but we do this because we want to please God.

 When God is with us, it is almost impossible to sin. We want to please God and are aware that God is watching us. It is difficult to sin if we think that God is always with us. Although it may seem daunting to try and keep the laws, we can take heart that Jesus summarized God’s commandments into two commandments.

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Matthew 22:37-40 NIV

 Jesus gives us salvation through grace, but we still need to be strong and courageous so that we can do the good works God has given us to do while he transforms us,