“Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.” (Joshua 1:7)
This was the word of the Lord that Joshua heard, to be “strong and courageous.” God told Joshua four times to be strong and courageous. Joshua was taking over the job of Moses. It was a tough job to lead the thousands of Jews. “These were the numbered of the children of Israel, six hundred thousand and a thousand seven hundred and thirty.” (Numbers 26:51) These were only the men that were counted. It didn’t include the wives and the children. So, it was probably an overwhelming task for Joshua.
Moses gave Joshua commands on what he should do, especially concerning the Law. These were not suggestions, but commands. Moses had learned from his experience the forty plus years leading the people and communing with God. God confirms Moses’s instructions by telling Joshua to obey what Moses had commanded. And God was commanding Joshua to be strong and courageous. “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” (Joshua 1:9) Attached to the commandment was a promise of having good success wherever he went and the promise that God would be with him wherever he went.
Following Christ takes faith. It takes faith to obey and to endure in our afflictions. Paul tells the Corinthians: “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.” (1Corinthians 16:13) In other words he tells them to act like men and be strong. Faithfulness, obedience, diligence and discipline take courage. The enemy of God and mankind is ready to pounce on any opportunity of weakness in us. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” (1Peter 5:8) We are in a battle for our faith. But the Lord has given us the armor of God: the helmet of salvation to protect our thoughts, the breastplate of righteousness to protect our hearts, the belt of Truth which is our very core of our belief, our feet covered by readiness in the Gospel of Christ, the shield of faith which thwarts every dart the enemy slings toward us and the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God which exposes the lies of the devil. With these we can put the enemy in its place. “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” (1Timothy 6:12)
It may be discouraging to keep on doing good works, first because we love people, then because we love the Lord and want to obey Him when it’s not appreciated, resented or taken for granted. How much should we give of our time, our love and our resources? But again, the Word of God encourages us to continue in courage and perseverance. “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” (Galatians 6:9) There may be talk of our giving to those who are not able to give back, who don’t have the means to help themselves, or who may be taking advantage of us as foolishness. But the Word of God says otherwise. “For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:” (1Peter 2:15)
God’s instructions to Joshua were “turn not from it to the right hand or to the left.” God was telling Joshua to follow Moses’s instructions to the letter concerning the Law. He was not to add to it to accommodate the people and he was not to diminish it to appease them. Later, by the time Jesus walked on earth, we learn how the priests had changed the Law to accommodate their personal desires and how they made loopholes in order to profit from the Law. We do that sometimes without realizing we are adding to or diminishing God’s Word to accommodate ourselves. We look for loopholes when God’s commandment infringes on us. We justify our disobedience by rationalizing it. But God’s commandments are straight forward. When we disobey, then justify and rationalize our actions, God doesn’t strike us like He did in the Old Testament because we are living in the time of grace. But we will suffer. It opens the door and gives the enemy an opportunity to “steal, kill and destroy.” “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) If our abundance has suddenly stopped in any area. We should look and see where we are diminishing or adding to God’s Word in disobedience. We so need to take time regularly and I suggest daily, to examine ourselves, our words, our thoughts and actions against God’s Word. We need to be honest with ourselves if we have tried to live our lives to please ourselves and have twisted the Word of God to assuage our disobedience. Just like God promised Joshua good success for obeying, we are promised a life of abundance.
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