Apparently Joshua still needed to be encouraged, because God repeats the statement that will be said to him 4 times in this chapter alone, adding the word “very” for emphasis, “…be strong and very courageous…” Sometimes we are going to need to be reminded of this same thing over and over again along the journey, because God says you can be strong and courageous when facing a giant mission because…

Meditating on Scripture Secures Success.

    After surrendering to the call of pastoral ministry in 2010, the very first class I took when I went to the seminary, was on daily developing a deep and personal relationship with Jesus. The idea behind this was that, not only to get through seminary, but also in your life as a pastor, the secret to your success was going to be an abiding relationship with Jesus through prayer, the word and the indwelling Holy Spirit. And ever since then, I developed the practice of starting my day with reading and journaling though the entire Bible every single year. Yet, what took my relationship with Jesus to another level, was after leaving seminary and pastoring for just over a year and hearing from my wife that she was pregnant with our son. I said, “Ok Jesus, I really need to hear from You now.”  So in addition to reading and journaling through scripture, I started taking a 30 minute walk every morning just to mediate on what I read and allow the Spirit to speak directly to me. This has completely changed my life. And if there is anything good that anyone sees in me, it’s because of that daily habit of being with Jesus and mediating on His word.

    God could have said to Joshua to read or study the scriptures, but instead He said mediate on it. And as I read through the scriptures every year, I’ve notice that this is what we are encouraged to do with scripture more than anything else. It means to slow down and think about it; digest it, marinate on it and let it sink in. Something starts to happen when we do this. Our faith in the love of God revealed in Jesus starts to build and this faith moves us to Spirit-empowered action.

    This building of faith in God’s ability and strength takes focus. That’s why God says,“do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left.” That’s why it just needs to be apart of our daily routine. It needs to be the first priority of the day.

    Another reason meditating on scripture is so powerful is that God often gives you something that He wants you to share with someone else. That’s why He says, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth…” We need to speak His word, both to ourselves and to others.

    If you do this, God literally guarantees you success! You’re guaranteed success, because you’re listening to God’s voice as He leads the mission in your life. That’s why He says you will “prosper wherever you go”and “you will have good success.” 

    God says in Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”You can be strong and courageous because God has already given you the territory, He is with you and if you meditate on the scriptures you will secure success. He is bigger than what you fear! He is for you! The reason you can be sure of a successful mission is because the One who guarantees your success, has already delivered you!

    Joshua and Israel, have already been free from Egyptian bondage for over 45 years. Jesus already secured your salvation at the cross and therefore assures your success, because He did it and is doing it, He just asks you to join Him.