The Secret of Success

Let me set the stage here. You remember Moses. He was told by God to "Set My people free." So he went down to Egypt and, not quite literally, dragged them kicking and screaming to freedom. They arrived fairly quickly at the Promised Land, but of the 10 spies they sent in, only 2 said, "God is with us; let's go for it." So they refused to enter. For that crime, God sent them wandering for 40 years in the desert to kill off that generation of the faithless. Eventually, even Moses messed up his chances of getting in, so at the end of the Deuteronomy, Moses hands the reins to Joshua and dies, and the Book of Joshua begins, "Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, that the LORD spoke to Joshua ..." (Josh 1:1). The message is from verse 2 through verse 9 -- fairly short -- but in that text God told Joshua "be strong and courageous" three times (Josh 1:6, 7, 9). And that was important because Joshua was about to lead God's people into a war. So, this "be strong and courageous" message ... what did God say about it? I mean, we might want to have strength and courage ourselves, right?

God told Joshua to "be strong and courageous," first and foremost, because "the LORD your God is with you wherever you go" (Josh 1:9). Bottom line. Like Paul's "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Rom 8:31), the logic is unavoidable. God told Joshua, "I will not leave you or forsake you" (Josh 1:5), so it was a done deal. Nothing to fear. Move ahead. But that wasn't all. God warned Joshua to be "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" (Josh 1:7). Now, look at that. If you are careful to cling to God's Word, you can expect "good success wherever you go." This was so critical that God said it again.

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. (Josh 1:8)

The message is clear. God has jobs for each of us (Eph 2:10). We all have assignments. And they look daunting. Don't worry. Be strong and courageous. God is with you. All you have to do is cling tightly to God's Word and you can count on God providing success. As David put it, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me" (Psa 23:4). Do you have that confidence? Are you ready for the kind of peace that strength and courage in God provide? Do you want that kind of success? It's right there.