January 6 Daily Discovery
January 6 Daily Discovery
Read Joshua Chapter 1
The Path to Success and Prosperity
The faithless, disobedient generation had all died, and now it was time to cross the Jordan and enter into the land of promise.
Moses had died, too, so the mantle of leadership of God's people fell upon Joshua. Moses wanted to enter, but God forbade it due to Moses' rebellion that is recorded in Deut. 32.
The people were asking for water and God instructed Moses to only speak to the rock, and it would give them water. Moses was angry with the people and addressed them sarcastically and hit the rock with his rod twice.
The Rock was a type of Christ, and He would only be smitten once. Due to this act, God allowed Moses to look into the land of Canaan but would not allow him to go in. (1 Cor. 10:4)
5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
7 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 withersoever thou goest.
8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
9 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 1:5-9
There are hundreds of popular self-help books that aim to provide formulas that one can follow to achieve success, but how should success be defined?
The writer of the book of Hebrews says:
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Heb. 12:1-2
Paul used the illustration of a Christian's life as a contest. He cited that we must follow the rules in order to be crowned the winner.
5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
~ 2 Tim. 4:5-8
We will not know if we have ultimately lived a successful life until we face our Maker in the resurrection.
True success is spiritual success.
It matters not if we die wealthy or famous. Most people would consider such people as being successful, but what would the Lord Jesus say about that?
15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
~ Luke 12:15-21
I think Joshua 1:8 provides for us a great "formula" for spiritual success:
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
Speak God's Word
It shall NOT depart out of your mouth. They had heard the Word of God, first from Moses and now from Joshua. Now, they needed to continue to rehearse it, for their own admonition and encouragement as well as others.
And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.
~ Romans 15:14
They were to share God's word with others.
Meditate upon God's Word
To meditate on God's Word is to ponder it and to speak it to ourselves in our minds. It means to continue to THINK about it, over and over and over.
They were only instructed to do this twice each day; that is DAY and NIGHT.
Do you want to succeed in the eyes of God? Think about His Word all day long.
The Purpose of Meditation
Meditate upon God's Word so that you may observe to do it! The purpose of meditation is that God's truth would take a journey from your head into your heart and then all the way down into your feet!
- We need to LEARN God's Word.
- We need to LOVE God's Word.
- We need to LIVE God's Word.
The Result of Obedience
The result of obedience to God's Word is prosperity and success. One cannot OBEY God if he does not know what God commands. Obeying God's Word is how we "make our way prosperous and have good success."
Spiritual Strength and Courage is Required
It is not EASY to learn, love and live God's Word. It takes spiritual strength. It takes courage.
Courage is what we need to overcome our fears. To have courage is to do what we know we should do, even if we are afraid to do it. This type of courage is fueled by our faith in God that is greater than the fears we face.
God charges us to Fear Him, not our enemies. God commands us to be strong. God never commands us to do something that is impossible.
God will provide the strength and courage. We simply need to believe and receive it from Him!
--------------
Continue Your Search
In this chapter, do you see any: Commands to Obey, Warnings to Heed, Promises to Claim, Examples to Follow, Vices to Avoid, Praises to Emulate, Prayers to Use, Principles by which to Live, Questions to Ask or Actions to Take?
Follow
