“I will not fail you or abandon you.”Joshua 1:5c NLT
That is the promise that God made to Joshua.
After leading Israel through the wilderness for 40 years, Moses died. Therefore, the Lord told Joshua that his time had come to lead the people out of the wilderness and into the land of Canaan, the land promised to Abraham - the land flowing with milk and honey.
Joshua was afraid.
Rightfully so, in my opinion, as being selected to lead ALL of God’s people AND to a land that is already occupied but promised to you?!
I can only imagine the anxiety and fear.
I can only imagine the questions he might’ve had.. like how sway?! 😵💫
But God had a plan. And that plan was to deliver on the promise that He made to Abraham back in Genesis 12.
What I find so beautiful about this plan is how God considered Joshua’s feelings about the role he would play in this plan. God knew that Joshua was afraid. So much so that in the first chapter of Joshua alone, God commands Joshua 4 times to be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:6, 1:7, 1:9 & 1:18b).
And what is even more encouraging is that God is not expecting Joshua to obey this command in his own strength BUT because God promises to be with him:
“𝕎𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕤𝕖𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕠𝕥, 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕓𝕖 𝕠𝕟 𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕀 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕘𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦.. ..𝕀 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕟𝕠𝕥 𝕗𝕒𝕚𝕝 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕠𝕣 𝕒𝕓𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕠𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦.” 𝕁𝕠𝕤𝕙𝕦𝕒 𝟙:𝟛 & 𝟙:𝟝
But wait, God made this promise to Joshua BEFORE commanding him to be strong and courageous. 🤯
Which, one may conclude, means that Joshua’s strength and courage depends solely on God being present with him.
Furthermore, before giving the final command to be strong and courageous, God gives Joshua the ‘how to’ to reach said success:
”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.“ 𝕁𝕠𝕤𝕙𝕦𝕒 𝟙:𝟠 ℕ𝕃𝕋