“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).
- Joshua 1What is faith? When we understand this, we understand that faith is the backbone of Christian life. In short, it is a life trusting God: having contentment in Him, and believing that God will surely do what He says He will do. When we read Joshua 1, we see that God told Joshua to trust Him fully.
In Joshua chapter 1, Joshua, Moses’ successor will have to lead Israel to enter the Canaan - meaning to conquer the land before their eyes. Now when we consider putting our shoes in Joshua, though he is a great warrior and a man of valor, his condition right now is different from what it used to be. The bible says that Moses are now dead, this means that if Joshua was able to serve under Moses, now he is the one, the sole leader: all the responsibilities is on him, he is now the man that has to lead Israel to fulfill God’s purpose - he can’t consult things with Moses, he has to rely on God fully. Have you felt any fear, or been overcome with the magnitude of responsibility? or wonder how could a man like me, a man full of limitation could ever do it? I think that’s what Joshua felt as well. But here, upon giving such a task to Joshua, God actually told Joshua that everything has been planned: God promised and assured Joshua that he will gain success (verse 3) and that no one can stand against him (verse 5). Why? Because God will be with Joshua (verse 5). God said that He won’t leave joshua or forsake Joshua. Therefore, God said: “Be strong and courageous” for Joshua will succeed. Isn’t that wonderful? God gave such promise which is an encouragement that meets joshua’s needs. Joshua needs that as he take a new role as a sole leader, to lead the whole israelites and to lead them to conquer canaan to fulfill God’s plan.
Let’s stop at this point for a while, and note that this promise however is a conditional promise. Did God tell Joshua that he will succeed, and that God will be with joshua so that no one could not stand against him to ANY place that his sole of his foot will tread upon? or Did God give such promise to joshua for everything that joshua will do, or will go? No. If we look carefully the promise is intended when joshua go over this Jordan, he and his people, into the land that God is giving to them, to the people of Israel, meaning only when Joshua and the israelites go to the canaan land, which is a place where God has planned, a land that God has promised, a destination according to His will. This is the thing that many people might overlook. When God has promised such success, it always relates to His will, and His glory. What is “Success”? Oxford dictionary put this definition on the word “success”: Success is the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. What does this means? it means that success always relates to a mission, purpose, will, vision, goal. When one manage to reach the intended goal that he sets then he can say that he is being successful. Now, what we often do to this verse of scripture is to apply the word “success” according to our will, our desire, our definition or standard of success. The bible never mentions that the success mentioned so that joshua will gain wealth (although the land itself is full of milk and honey), it does not say that joshua will be the king or gain such fame (although we can not deny that the people that God use often become a role model like Moses). God told Joshua that His aim for his people is to enter canaan and to gain the land that God has given to them. The promise will only be valid when Joshua go to a region defined in verse 4 which is from the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun - that’s the territory that God wanted Joshua to go - and not ANY place. God did not want Joshua to go back to Egypt, or to another place. If Joshua goes to another place which is not according to God’s will then the promise in verse 3, 5, 6, 7 and 9 will not be fulfilled. God wants Israel to have a specific land that God has planned so that in that land Israelites will be a nation consecrated by God to worship YAHWEH as their God. In other words, the success here relates to the accomplishment to fulfill God’s will. That is how God defines success which is NOT a human oriented success instead God’s oriented accomplishment.
Now for us today, what is our mission? are we sensitive to God’s call for us? God’s mission is always God’s oriented, and always for His glory. Things might not be smooth, and we might face challenges in our lives, but as God has spoken to Joshua that He will be with Joshua, the same promise is also applied to us today, that God will be with us always to the end of the age (read Matthew 28:18-20). Jesus told his disciples that because he has all the authority in heaven and the earth, he said to them to go to disciple all the nations for His glory, and He said that he will be with us, His help and strength will be with us to accomplish such mission. Now let us ponder when was the last time we put our trust in God who has authority in heaven and on earth? When do we worry? Why we worry about our future? How can we apply this in mission? Is our mission is self mission or God’s mission? Do we have such a passionate heart to save the soul, to be the light and salt of the world, to teach others to be His disciple?
But of course, we have a sinful nature, and often disobey Him. None of us deserves God’s presence. But God has put our sins on Jesus and punished them there. He has filled us with His Spirit, and now abides with us. What a miracle! What a grace! This promise is like a coin with two sides: in one side, God’s promise to His mission; and on another side, as we can sin, this promise that “I will never leave you or forsake you” is also a promise about His discipline. It is a promise about God’s help, and also a promise about God’s discipline - and this word is a word of encouragement to Joshua on this day when his leadership began.
Now faith, is to believe to His promise, to be content to His promise. Faith requires strength and courage. We are all struggle with this, and none of us is immune, the same with Joshua, and so God told Joshua 3 times in this passage to be strong and courageous. Be strong and courageous because God is with us! Be strong and courageous because God is all we need. Maybe one of the reason we haven’t grown more in our walk with God is because of our fear: fear of people, fear of failure, fear that people won’t approve us, and any other fear which is self-centered / human oriented failure. This command and promise is applied for us today: Be strong and courageous! Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
This faith believes and trust that He is the almighty God, and no one could stand against him - that
s why God said no one could stand against Joshua because God is with him, not because of Joshua per se. If we put our trust in the LORD, meaning to trust him fully, to acknowledge His power and authority, then we can be assured to do whatever His commandment to us. He is God, and not just a God over there, but through what is written in the Bible we may know that God is always present (omni-presence). The word “for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go” is a covenant word. It is a word of promise, the foundation, that assures us, His people to be strong and courage.
RC Sproul in his teaching said that “This pledge of covenant presence is one of the greatest blessings God gives to His people and is a repetition of one of the patriarchal promises (Gen. 28:10–15). Moreover, it is a promise given to us today through Christ (Heb. 13:5). Still, we should see that it is a promise to be with us and not a promise to keep our lives free from harm, calamity, or suffering. Indeed, we are guaranteed to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, but it is likewise certain that our great Shepherd will go through it with us; He will not leave us alone (Ps. 23:4). Yet God does not promise that we will always feel His presence. Thankfully, our feelings do not determine the truthfulness of His Word, and the Lord is with us whether or not we can feel His presence.“ Our feelings are often unreliable and in any case they cannot determine the truthfulness of God’s promised presence. Whether we sense that He is present or not, the Lord is with us to accomplish His will, and we must trust His promises in Scripture even when we do not particularly feel like it.
Thanks be to God, that He is not just saying it, He provides Joshua with a way to keep in faith, that is in verse 7 and 8: in order to be strong and courageous, don’t forget to be careful to obey the law, do not turn from it so that you may have good success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, and you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may carefully do according to what is written in it. Then you will have good success. To sum up this is what will strengthen our faith and courage: attention to God's word. As long as we live according to God’s word, as long as we pleased Him day by day - Don’t be afraid, as He is our protector and He is our mighty God who will act and bless our days. Our duty is just to trust Him and obey Him, and for the rest God will take care.
Let’s be thankful to God for His promise, and pray so that our lives may be filled with His spirit, our heart may be moved to feel where His heart is, to be sensitive to His will. For us that feels God is absent, pray and ask Him to help you be convinced of His presence even if it feels like He is absent. Pray that God may give us a heart to long for His word, and for us to meditate His words day by day, so that His word may not depart from our mouth.
~ Paul Hartono
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