A Blessed Life, Part 2

Joshua 1:1-9

God’s Commission to Joshua

After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord. 

¨It came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun (scripture says that the Lord spoke to Moses as a man speaks to another man, so cool. Now it was Joshua’s turn) Moses’ assistant, saying: “Moses My servant is dead. Now, therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory.

No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you, do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night that you may observe 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. 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 (is it not worth being in the scriptures so we too can experience this relationship with the Lord which He defines as prosperity? We limit prosperity to wealth, yet wealth does not buy security, peace, courage, hope, love, or salvation). 

The language in these verses is powerful. God wanted Joshua to know that He, God, IS WITH HIM and promises that as He has been with Moses, He will be with Joshua. Do you believe that this promise was only for Joshua, or do you think it is for all believers that follow Him? I know that it is for all believers, but most of us read it as if it was just for Joshua. Joshua was special, but so are we. I discuss this question in a bit; however, for now, let’s consider what Joshua was going to face. They faced armies so large that they made Israel look like a junior high school flag football team, yet Israel conquered them. The scriptures say that the beast of the field killed more enemy soldiers than were killed by the sword. Another battle God rained down large hail and destroyed them. Another battle the Philistines and the Moabites turned on themselves. When it came to fighting and defending Israel, God was very creative, out of the box kind of stuff. Hopefully, I am not confusing Joshua’s battles with David’s. In either case, all the battles except one, where they disobeyed and were defeated, were miracles. 

Joshua’s assignment was to conquer the land and give each tribe their inheritance. Our role as parents is to do the same for our children. To model a life of faith in such a tangible, transparent way that they see the value of living life with The Lord. And when they have struggles, which they will, they’ve learned not to fear. They have learned by our example that they are not alone, but Christ is alongside them. This is such a critical lesson and the foundation of being a person of confidence. I hate it when faith becomes a religion, regulated to a list of do’s and don’t. Faith is not a religion. It’s a relationship with the true and living God. A way of living life that brings joy, peace, courage, love, and strength, even in times of crisis. 

Towards the end of Joshua’s battling years, most, but not all, the land was conquered. Joshua gave the final responsibility to the leaders of each of the tribes who the land was appointed to. They compromised and did not follow through, and consequently, they intermarried (which was forbidden) and forsook their God for idol worship. It is a good lesson for us. It’s either 110% God, or more compromise is on the horizon. 

As a believer, you must always be growing in your faith. The compromises that exist in all of us should be lessening and lessening as we follow Christ. If six months from now, you do not know The Lord better, something is wrong. You are at an impasse because God is asking you to give up something or do something (maybe forgive?), and that is hindering you from getting closer to Him. We are either not willing or still struggling with it. When life is tough, faith needs to be tougher. The Lord is building fortitude in us. This word means strength in times of adversity. It reminds of the old Rocky Balboa boxing movies. He depicted fortitude. David also, in Psalm 23 saying, “even if I go through the valley of the shadow of death thou art still with me.” David would not have had this confidence had it not been for difficult times, same with us. 

There are times of appointed rest where we take inventory of all God has done, enjoy the view, so to say, but then move onward. To rest beyond the appointed time is to risk temptation and compromise. Samson flirted way too long with Delilah. He should not have even been with her. He was a Jew. She was a Philistine, and he was violating a command of God. It was just a matter of time before he would compromise his relationship with God. Sure enough, he did, and it cost him his sight and strength. He was reduced to a beast of burden grinding out grain for Israel’s enemy. He was made to be ruler and judge over Israel; however, because he could not rule over his passions, he became a slave. How many of us are slaves to secret passions, addictions, or patterns of behavior such as fear, worry, insecurity, lust, be it materialistic or physical. These are all valley events, difficult times, the shadow of death if you would, that we all need to pass through, not set up camp as some of us do. This would be a collision course with failure. I heard a statistic several years ago that the number of divorces in the church was about the same as out of the church. If that is not a failure, I don’t know what is. 

Joshua was God’s soldier. His passion was for his Lord, and His sole honor was to obey The Lord. 

Joshua 5:13-15

And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “Are You for our adversaries or us?” (As if to say “answer correctly or die.”) So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord, I have now come.” 

And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does my Lord say to His servant?”

Then the Commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so. 

Joshua demonstrated robust courage, it didn’t matter the size of his opponent, and to the same degree, he showed humility. He was a real soldier and a great role model for any believer who is serious about their faith. It’s worth noting that when we take steps toward obedience, it is met with blessings. It doesn’t mean that obedience is easy, or that it does not come with opposition and sacrifice, but in God’s Eternal Book, there is not one act of obedience that is not noted. Joshua’s obedience was met with victory, but they still had to fight for it. 

Many believe that this angel was a theophany (appearance of Jesus) by the fact the Commander tells Joshua to take his shoes off. In no other encounter with angels was this said, (e,g. Mary and Martha encountering the angels at the tomb, or the angel announcing the birth of Jesus, or the birth of John the Baptist, etc.) Also, as mentioned, some believe that these verses (promises) are for a particular period and that Joshua was being groomed to do this, and you would be right. However, I’ve come to believe that these promises are for all who would be God’s Joshua. We all have “land” that needs to be conquered, both inside of us and outside of us. We know people (family, friends, co-workers) that need to enter into the promised land of faith, to know Jesus as their Savior; and there are definitely forces that seek to stop us from seeking Jesus and telling others about him. It takes some maturity to be able to see the “war” between good and evil, but if we continue to grow in faith, we will become sensitive to it. 

Romans 7:21-25

“I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ, our Lord!

So then, with the mind, I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.”

Therefore since this is true…

Ephesians 6:10-12 The Whole Armor of God

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places ( since the battle is not against flesh and blood but spiritual, the only way to put on the armor is through faith, and faith comes by hearing/ reading God’s Word. There comes a time in a believer’s life that God’s promises become a reality, and what is seen or interpreted as fact is the illusion. 

***A great prayer is, “Lord open my eyes to see the battle, both in me and around me and daily help me to be your soldier.

Now let’s discuss some specific verses.

“Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. “

This is such a great description of faith. In one of the episodes of Indiana Jones, Harrison Ford exits a cave, and before him is a huge drop. He was at the edge of a cliff. He repeatedly recited a Bible verse, and with that took his first step into what seemed to be sure death, but as he stepped in faith, a bridge appeared, and with each step, the bridge continued to grow. It was a great example of the walk of faith. When the Israelites drew battle lines against the inhabitants of the land, this was their promise. They could claim this promise and step into battle or become fearful because of being outnumbered and run, which would have been a sure defeat.

Worthy to note that the armor for the believer is forward-facing, there is no armor for one’s back, running from the battle is sure death. Our Father’s promises are for us today even though the challenges are unknown, he knows them. He is more than able to strengthen us. So it’s our choice, we can walk in confidence or fear. However let me explain the walk of faith, less I mislead you. I still get nervous even though I know all the stories. The challenges of running a business, keeping up with the demand, and keeping work coming in, etc., are plentiful, so I stand on God’s promises. I recite them and they take me through the day. Yet my flesh gets nervous, I feel it in my stomach, and it’s a strange feeling to be trusting and be nervous at the same time. Maybe that will change? 

In ending, I leave you with the verse that has become my breastplate.

Deuteronomy 31:6

“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

One of my favorite promises. I have claimed this promise so many times. I can’t even tell you. It’s such a courage and hope builder. Sometimes the situations we find ourselves in are our own doing, not God’s. Yet if at that moment we acknowledge our error and repent, God will take us through the repercussions of our disobedience and use it for our good and for His glory. Only He can do that. And the more time we spend with Him in prayer and The Word, the easier it will be to stay on course. No one trusts a stranger, but a close friend is easy to believe. 

So the truth is laid out for us, and it is a choice we make. To become Jesus’s soldiers or to follow Samson and reap his failure. The result of each is clear, and it’s a choice that has been since the time of man. Choose wisely, for not only does your life depend on it, but the lives of many others are watching.

Father God, 

The lives of many are a weighty concern, for I am human. However, if I just ask You each day to help me be a faithful son or daughter to You and focus on that, everything else will fall into place. You are always my answer, and help others to see that You are their answer as well because of how You manifest Yourself through me. Amen

Move Forward In Grace – Arthur Navarrette
Vida4U.com is the website where all past Vida’s are archived. In addition to the weekly devotionals, the yearly inspirational writings featured in December’s House2Home Magazine are archived under “Faith Talk.”  Please use this site for your benefit and refer your friends to it as well. If they would like the weekly series emailed to them, they can send their requests to Arthur@Vida4U.com.