The Book of Joshua - The Second River
Sometimes, in faith, you can’t go back but don’t know how to go forward. All you have is a promise, a call, and a choice.
Joshua 1
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead.
Moses has this amazing story. All of these incredible things happened, but he didn’t start out that way. He grew a lot and made some mistakes, but no one could argue with the fact that he was an amazing man with an amazing life and an unbelievable legacy.
They left Egypt, crossed the Red Sea, and saw God do unbelievable things. There were some hard times, but they also clearly saw God’s provision, presence, and power.
Who could want to attempt to follow that? Who would want to attempt to follow that?
Why would anyone want to attempt to add to that?
Because God’s not done. There’s more that God wants to do, more than we can see, even more than we have already seen!
When it comes to us, we love hearing that. It gives us a tremendous sense of hope. It provides us with the strength to navigate difficult times and circumstances. And it ought to.
Even when there are obstacles to overcome and challenges to face, even when things don’t make sense, God is still at work, He’s still orchestrating events, and He’s still in control.
But there’s a catch to how God does this that often causes us to misunderstand and miss out on all God is doing because there’s something in between them and what’s ahead.
Joshua 1
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. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand 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. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. 7 “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.
The Backstory
There are the people of God, the struggles, the battles, and a body of water to cross – the Red Sea. There’s the escaping from Egypt, God parting that water, and them walking across on dry land, but then… 40 years in the wilderness, God’s provision, getting off track, back on track, missteps, and miracles.
In front of them, propelling them onward is a promise – that God will bring them to a land, a promised land, a home, and a “land flowing with milk and honey.”
When we pick up this story, they seem so close to the goal, to the payoff, the moment where it all becomes worth it, where it all makes sense. But in front of God’s people is another river.
Across that river is the place called the promised land, but before it comes to be, there will be more battles to claim and keep it. It’s a different body of water than Moses crossed but requires the same faith.
And this begs the question. Will they cross it? Will we cross it?
There was water behind them, too. God was faithful in bringing them across where the water seemed far too deep in a miraculous fashion. But will He do the same here again?
Where they are is not the promised land, but it’s familiar. In some ways, it’s easier; in many ways, it’s more comfortable, even if it’s not the fullness of what God had for them.
For them, the wilderness had become familiar – 40 years of it. For some, it was all they knew. For some, it became home.
Where we are may not be the promised land, but we know what to do here. There’s no battle or struggle – not much to gain or lose.
What’s interesting, though, is as we go through a past season, there’s uncertainty there, too. It’s just not the benefit of hindsight; it all makes more sense.
The Promised Land
This sounds appealing and exciting to us. There’s expectation involved, but there’s also unknown. There might be danger. At the very least, it’s unfamiliar. There will be more struggles, more uncertainty, more battles.
God’s promise and this land were unimaginable to Joshua and these early people, even with what they had seen God do before. So big, so overwhelming. A principle that I believe we see throughout scripture and history that is a little unsettling for us.
God purposely uses our discomfort to accomplish His purposes.
This one we don’t like. We all like Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
That promise is true, but the way God does it is often not how we think or even how we would like. Because right before that verse, God essentially says, “I’m going to raise up difficulty and struggle and raise you up in them. But I will be faithful through them.”
There’s a reason this is hard for us. If we could see how it all works out from the beginning, it would give us enough to get through it.
This is different – we often can’t see how it works out or makes sense. In fact, there’s a writer in the New Testament who says, “Now faith is confidence of things hoped for, the assurance of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). Another translation of the bible says, faith is the “substance of things hoped for.” It is the main ingredient.
So, what are we left with when we can’t see the “what?” We’re left with the “who.” We’re only left with God to hold onto.
There’s nothing else to hold onto. And even when we think we can hold onto other things, we really can’t. This is why God says in this passage, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”
Seeing the faithfulness of God is not clear when looking forward; it’s only clear when looking back.
But this isn’t a blank check. God promises His presence, and He even assures us of the fulfillment of His promises to us but requires us to walk a particular path and to be something as we walk.
Joshua 1
8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; 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. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Here’s what God says: Don’t be afraid, don’t give up, God is still with you. You can be strong not because you feel it, but because I Am – God is – strong. He was strong as you look back at the first river, and He’ll be strong at this one. And because of that, YOU can be strong.
Wherever He takes us in the future, together, He’ll be there too.
Want to play catch-up, or are you looking for a specific topic? Check out our collection of sermons or our podcast, LHC Unplugged.
For more LHC content, subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on Instagram.
Joshua 1
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead.
Moses has this amazing story. All of these incredible things happened, but he didn’t start out that way. He grew a lot and made some mistakes, but no one could argue with the fact that he was an amazing man with an amazing life and an unbelievable legacy.
They left Egypt, crossed the Red Sea, and saw God do unbelievable things. There were some hard times, but they also clearly saw God’s provision, presence, and power.
Who could want to attempt to follow that? Who would want to attempt to follow that?
Why would anyone want to attempt to add to that?
Because God’s not done. There’s more that God wants to do, more than we can see, even more than we have already seen!
When it comes to us, we love hearing that. It gives us a tremendous sense of hope. It provides us with the strength to navigate difficult times and circumstances. And it ought to.
Even when there are obstacles to overcome and challenges to face, even when things don’t make sense, God is still at work, He’s still orchestrating events, and He’s still in control.
But there’s a catch to how God does this that often causes us to misunderstand and miss out on all God is doing because there’s something in between them and what’s ahead.
Joshua 1
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. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand 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. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. 7 “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.
The Backstory
There are the people of God, the struggles, the battles, and a body of water to cross – the Red Sea. There’s the escaping from Egypt, God parting that water, and them walking across on dry land, but then… 40 years in the wilderness, God’s provision, getting off track, back on track, missteps, and miracles.
In front of them, propelling them onward is a promise – that God will bring them to a land, a promised land, a home, and a “land flowing with milk and honey.”
When we pick up this story, they seem so close to the goal, to the payoff, the moment where it all becomes worth it, where it all makes sense. But in front of God’s people is another river.
Across that river is the place called the promised land, but before it comes to be, there will be more battles to claim and keep it. It’s a different body of water than Moses crossed but requires the same faith.
And this begs the question. Will they cross it? Will we cross it?
There was water behind them, too. God was faithful in bringing them across where the water seemed far too deep in a miraculous fashion. But will He do the same here again?
Where they are is not the promised land, but it’s familiar. In some ways, it’s easier; in many ways, it’s more comfortable, even if it’s not the fullness of what God had for them.
For them, the wilderness had become familiar – 40 years of it. For some, it was all they knew. For some, it became home.
Where we are may not be the promised land, but we know what to do here. There’s no battle or struggle – not much to gain or lose.
What’s interesting, though, is as we go through a past season, there’s uncertainty there, too. It’s just not the benefit of hindsight; it all makes more sense.
The Promised Land
This sounds appealing and exciting to us. There’s expectation involved, but there’s also unknown. There might be danger. At the very least, it’s unfamiliar. There will be more struggles, more uncertainty, more battles.
God’s promise and this land were unimaginable to Joshua and these early people, even with what they had seen God do before. So big, so overwhelming. A principle that I believe we see throughout scripture and history that is a little unsettling for us.
God purposely uses our discomfort to accomplish His purposes.
This one we don’t like. We all like Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
That promise is true, but the way God does it is often not how we think or even how we would like. Because right before that verse, God essentially says, “I’m going to raise up difficulty and struggle and raise you up in them. But I will be faithful through them.”
There’s a reason this is hard for us. If we could see how it all works out from the beginning, it would give us enough to get through it.
This is different – we often can’t see how it works out or makes sense. In fact, there’s a writer in the New Testament who says, “Now faith is confidence of things hoped for, the assurance of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). Another translation of the bible says, faith is the “substance of things hoped for.” It is the main ingredient.
So, what are we left with when we can’t see the “what?” We’re left with the “who.” We’re only left with God to hold onto.
There’s nothing else to hold onto. And even when we think we can hold onto other things, we really can’t. This is why God says in this passage, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”
Seeing the faithfulness of God is not clear when looking forward; it’s only clear when looking back.
But this isn’t a blank check. God promises His presence, and He even assures us of the fulfillment of His promises to us but requires us to walk a particular path and to be something as we walk.
Joshua 1
8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; 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. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
- Have I not commanded – This isn’t optional for God’s people. Not a suggestion or a recommendation.
- Be Strong – Strength is who we need to be. It’s a character – it’s something you choose and develop. It hurts, even aches, as you develop it. It’s not something that happens to you. You may not feel good about it as it’s happening.
- It’s in that moment that Satan feeds a lie – that because we don’t feel good about it, we aren’t.
- God is saying this is something we choose, not always feel.
- The original means “to become strong.” How do you become? By doing repeatedly. Especially when we don’t feel it. - And courageous – Courage is what we need to do. It’s an action-oriented quality. Courage is what puts strength to work. Courage isn’t necessary and doesn’t work if we’re standing still. It only works if we are facing something or moving.
- Don’t be afraid, don’t be discouraged. There are things that cause us fear. There are things that will require strength and courage to face or wade through.
- The Lord your God will be with you – God won’t always give us the answers we want. He won’t always give us the comfort of the familiar. He doesn’t dwell back there. He’s here, but He’s moving out from here. He’s up ahead, out in front. And in those places…
Here’s what God says: Don’t be afraid, don’t give up, God is still with you. You can be strong not because you feel it, but because I Am – God is – strong. He was strong as you look back at the first river, and He’ll be strong at this one. And because of that, YOU can be strong.
Wherever He takes us in the future, together, He’ll be there too.
Want to play catch-up, or are you looking for a specific topic? Check out our collection of sermons or our podcast, LHC Unplugged.
For more LHC content, subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on Instagram.
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