GOD'S TIPS FOR SUCCESS

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua, son of Nun, Moses' aide:

"Moses, My servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea on the west. No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law My servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

Joshua 1:1-9

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As the Book of Joshua opens, the Moses era has ended and a new era begins as the Israelites fall under the command of Joshua. As chapter 1 begins, we see the Lord speaking to Moses’ successor saying:

"Moses, My servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea on the west. No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

The scriptures have showed that Joshua was a protégé to Moses so he was very well versed in everything God had done for him when he was in charge of leading the Israelites. Given this, what an awesome assurance and comfort it had to be for him to hear God would be with him just as He was for Moses. Basically, Joshua had nothing to worry about for no one would be able to stand against him all the days of his life. He knew this because the Lord told him so and everything He promises is perfectly true.

The rest of this passage, from the end of verse 5 through verse 9, offers Joshua further encouragement as he assumes leadership. They also serve as words of assurance for us, offering special tips for success within our own lives. They include:

1. I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Like Joshua and the people of Israel, God is ever with us…always and forever.

And as long as we continue to be loyal to Him and His Word, persistently seeking and following His will and way, He will guide us to do the right thing which naturally leads to success through a life that is pleasing in His sight.

My brothers and sisters, what an awesome assurance we have, knowing that our Lord will never abandon us! It’s a wonderful truth that sets us free to overcome and triumph over any challenges this life might bring.

2. Be strong and courageous. Don’t be terrified or discouraged.

The road to success can be full of difficulties and obstacles…matters that can sap your strength and cause you to question your ability to reach your goals while meeting the tasks at hand. In harder situations, we can even find ourselves paralyzed by fear and anxiety, so much so that we feel as if we can’t move forward with anything.

So how do we deal with these feelings and move past them for success?

Simply put, we go back to tip number 1 and remember that God has guaranteed that He would never leave nor forsake us. With this, ask yourself if that is anything you can’t make it through when He is alongside. Indeed, in Him, we find the power and courage we need to persevere and come out on top, not by our own might but through His. As the scriptures assure us, we can do all things through the One who gives us strength.

3. Be obedient to God’s word.

Going back to our scripture passage, we find God saying this to Joshua:

“Be careful to obey all the law My servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.”

This final tip from the Lord to help us find success hinges on our ability to travel on the right path in life, the narrow of path of righteousness which we only walk on through an unwavering commitment to obey God’s word. Like with Joshua, God doesn’t want us to turn off this narrow path either “to the right or to the left”. This is because a diversion from the way of the Lord will lead someone down a path of destruction that takes them away from the success God wants them to have.

We can avoid this from happening if we don’t allow His Word to depart from our mouths. He expects us to meditate on the scriptures and then act on them, living a life that He wants us to live. If we do this, then we can be sure the Lord will make sure we are prosperous and successful.

In closing, it may see like fully complying with God’s word is a daunting task but it really isn’t as long as we remain committed to tips 1 and 2. For our Lord is indeed always with us and won’t forsake us and it’s because of this truth that we can ever be strong and courageous.

Thanks be to God for all He has been, all He is, and all he is yet to be as He helps any of us to be the people He wants us to be while living an abundantly successful life in Him.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.