Hope

by David Jeremiah

  If you are afraid about your future, if you are being called to a new assignment that seems beyond your abilities, or if you just need encouragement to continue on in whatever God has called you to do, you, too, will find courage as you study God’s charge to Joshua in the face of his greatest challenge. We’ll explore six powerful principles from Joshua to send you forth as a conqueror rather than a hostage to your own fear of failure.

  The Principle of Divine Perspective

  As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.

  JOSHUA 1:5

  God looked upon an anxious new leader and gave him the words of a lifetime. He began by reminding Joshua of the adventures he had enjoyed as Moses’ protégé through the years. Joshua had been witness to a rich history of miracles and magnificence, of God proving His faithfulness in a trek through a hostile empire and then into the wilderness.

  God encouraged Joshua to remember what he had experienced as Moses’ partner in ministry—how He had led Moses and how He had performed mighty acts to help Moses lead the people. God assured Joshua, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you.” Joshua was to view his daunting task through the perspective of God’s previous demonstrations of power and faithfulness.

  I love to read biographies of Christian leaders because they remind me of the principle of divine perspective. As God has been faithful to His followers in the past, He will be faithful to us in the present. He has put no limits on what He is willing to do for you and me. His actions might even exceed what He has done in the past. He is able “to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).

  Fear of failure is nothing new—nor is overcoming it. Think of the seventeenth-century Pilgrims who left their homes to find freedom of worship in the New World. They must have been daunted by the prospect of crossing the Atlantic in their tiny ships and surviving in an uncharted wilderness. But they overcame their fear because they had faith in God’s power and provision. That is the benefit of perspective—it allows us to see beyond the trials that frighten us in the here and now.

  God has never called anyone to a task and then abandoned him or her by the side of the road. So if we fear what God wants us to do, our perspective needs adjusting so that we focus not on the size of the job but on the size of God.

  The Principle of Divine Purpose

  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.

  JOSHUA 1:2-3

  God gave Joshua a specific thing to do! He told Joshua to walk on every piece of ground in the land of Canaan and promised him that every piece of ground he walked on would be given to him and to his people forever. God was giving Joshua focus.

  The 1993 movie The Fugitive, starring Harrison Ford, was nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning one. It grossed nearly $369 million worldwide. But the movie almost didn’t get made. The script was in development for five and a half years. Nine different writers produced at least twenty-five different screenplays. Producer Arnold Kopelson said,

  There were times that everyone would say, “You’re wasting your time. Why are you doing this? You’re wasting money.” Warner Brothers put the property into turn-around. . . . We had spent about two million dollars in writing costs and they were concerned that this would never bear out. And I said, “Listen, I have an instinct about this. My gut tells me that this is going to be a success.”[3]

  Granted, sometimes instincts and gut feelings don’t work out. But in this case, they did. Kopelson’s determination illustrates an important point: maintaining purpose and focus in the face of obstacles can be the difference between failure and success.

  Seeing The Fugitive through to opening day meant the producer had to stay focused for more than five years. But Joshua had to maintain his own focus for fourteen years, the time required to win the Promised Land. It helped that Joshua didn’t have to trust his gut feeling; he had the promises of God.

  J. Oswald Sanders helps us understand this promise to Joshua:

  The land belonged to Israel by direct gift from God, Possessor of heaven and earth. The land became theirs experientially only when they walked around it and actually took possession. This fundamental spiritual principle carries over into the experience of the New Testament Christian. “According to your faith let it be to you” (Matthew 9:29).[4]

  But having a promise from God is no guarantee of success if we lose our focus. God’s responsibility is to make the promise; ours is to stay focused on it in the face of fear. To achieve success, Joshua and the new generation of Israelites had to focus their minds and hearts on the purpose God had given them.

  There’s a special, liberating power in knowing exactly what it is we must do. That’s why people derive great satisfaction from making and checking off to-do lists. To boil down all the complexities of the day into bullet points of activity is to see our way to productivity. On the other hand, whole organizations fail because people are confused about their job descriptions. Set a clear focus in your life, and fear will be crowded out. The more you fix your hope on God’s purpose for you, the more you will overcome your fear.

  The Principle of Divine Persuasion

  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage.

  JOSHUA 1:9

  While Reverend William Sykes was the chaplain of University College, Oxford, he described a group of undergraduates with physical disabilities he had known. Their limitations were many, but what linked them together was a quiet courage within them. This experience caused him to ponder the meaning of that word. Looking to the writings of Cardinal Manning, he found this entry:

  The Italians call it Coraggio, or greatness of heart; the Spaniards, Corage[sic]; the French, Courage, from whom we have borrowed it. And we understand it to mean manliness, bravery, boldness, fearlessness, springing not from a sense of physical power, or from insensibility to danger or pain, but from the moral habit of self-command, with deliberation, fully weighing present dangers, and clearly foreseeing future consequences, and yet in the path of duty advancing unmoved to its execution.[5]

  Somehow, the students had found a strength inside that transcended their physical limitations. Faith is an inestimable power, and often it grows by the convincing words of someone who persuades us that we, too, can live courageously.

  Who among us does not have some kind of disability—in skill, desire, motivation, strength, experience, courage, or the countless other traits required to make good progress in life? It’s called being human—and it’s why every person needs the same exhortation Joshua needed when he stood on the banks of the Jordan River and looked across to a hostile land.

  He must have remembered what happened when the Israelites stood at the borders of the Promised Land almost forty years earlier. They had God’s promise, yet the challenge paralyzed them. It wasn’t the giants in the land that disabled them; it was their giant fear. To prevent this new generation from making the same mistake, Joshua needed to display strength and courage. This meant he needed to be persuaded that God would enable them to meet the challenge. God had just the right words for Israel’s new leader:

  Be strong and of good courage. . . . Only be strong and very courageous. . . . Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage.

  JOSHUA 1:6-7, 9

  This is the heart of God’s motivational speech to Joshua. Three times He tells him to be strong and courageous. The word strong means to be resolute, firm, and not easily swayed. Courageous conveys a sense of daring, an openness to risk.

  Joshua had proved that he had that inner strength within him. We witness it on the day the spies returned, ten of them giving a fearful report of unconquerable giants. Only two men, Joshua and Caleb, wanted to take hold of God’s promises and push forward despite the obstacles. The ten insisted, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are
stronger than we” (Numbers 13:31). The tales of terror drowned out the counsel of courage.

  When we face such a situation, we’ll either focus on the problem or on the solution. Ten men turned into grasshoppers in their own eyes simply by giving rein to their fear; two men focused on God and His power. Ten spoke of the size of the enemy; two spoke of the size of their God.

  Sometimes the majority gets it wrong. The wisdom of God is often found on the narrow path that few travel rather than in the easy and popular choice. Leadership is a great deal more than gauging which way the wind is blowing. It often requires standing firm as the current tries to bend you in another direction.

  Paul Laurence Dunbar’s little poem makes this point:

  Minorities, since time began,

  Have shown the better side of man;

  And often in the lists of Time

  One man has made a cause sublime![6]

  When I’ve faced challenges in my life, I’ve drawn inspiration from envisioning Joshua at the banks of his river, learning to be strong and courageous, or holding on to the words of Paul: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). These inspiring passages persuade me to be firm and willing to take risks for God. I believe this practice will work for you as well.

  The Principle of Divine Priority

  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.

  JOSHUA 1:7-8

  Now we come to the heart of the matter: God’s Word is the only path to success.

  God didn’t tell Joshua that his priority needed to be military strategy, financial backing, or bilateral relations with neighboring countries. These things have a place, but they are not the priority. Here was Joshua’s priority: meditate day and night on the principles of the Word of God.

  This requires dedication somewhat like that of a long-distance runner who is training to compete in an Olympic marathon. The runners I’ve read about are incredibly focused. They live with a Spartan’s commitment to a single priority—winning that marathon and standing on an Olympic podium. Running informs every aspect of their lives. They eat specific foods, weighing the grams and counting the calories. They monitor their weight, body fat, water weight, and bone density. They run in only a certain kind of shoe. They have limited social lives because running, training, eating, and sleeping dominate their days. Their training schedule is the paradigm into which all of life’s activities fit. Their conversations and their daily decisions reflect their mission. When planning and executing their lives, everything flows through the grid of training.

  When asked what he would be doing if he weren’t a runner, one marathoner from Kenya laughed and said, “I don’t know. For me, running is everything.” I urge you to read the following five points about Scripture with that perspective so you can say, “For me, the Word of God is everything. It informs all my decisions and values. I arrange my life around its principles. I study it consistently to reinforce my life goals. I consult it before I make plans or decisions. What the Bible says takes precedence over whatever anyone else says. It is, after all, God’s Word.”

  Scripture is my weapon of choice in the fight against the fear of defeat. As we seek courage to conquer the giants in our lives, we need to make our top priority the Word of God.

  Talk about the Word Constantly

  This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth.

  JOSHUA 1:8

  Let’s clarify what Joshua would have understood to be the “Book of the Law.” For him it was the first five books of our Bible—the Pentateuch, as that collection of books is called. Nothing more of Scripture had yet been written. God told Joshua that this book was to be his plan of action. He was to take this book in his hands and commit it to his heart. It was the key to his ability to accomplish the assignment God was giving him.

  The Book of the Law was also to be the topic of his conversation with others—not talking about it as we would a novel or a biography, but allowing the law of God to inform, guide, and temper all conversations and deliberations. Later in the book, we see Joshua doing that very thing:

  Afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and the cursings, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel.

  JOSHUA 8:34-35

  Part of what Joshua would have read to the people was the passage in Deuteronomy 6:6-9, Moses’ instructions to parents about how to weave the Word of God into their children’s lives: “You . . . shall talk of [God’s words] when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” (verse 7).

  Notice the word talk. God’s words, commands, and statutes—His perspective on everything—were to be embedded in every family conversation. Children would grow up with God’s law deeply entrenched in their very thinking.

  The Deuteronomy passage also uses a figure of speech that involves making a point by giving opposites: when you’re in the house, when you’re outside; when you’re lying down, when you’re up and about; when you’re sitting, when you’re standing. The idea is that we teach the law all the time—now, then, and every moment in between.

  God’s law should live on the tongue. There is no inappropriate time for sharing it, and we should be as driven to discuss it as a bird is to sing. The Lord provides all the various venues of life—relaxed family time, outdoor chores, coming-of-age milestones—for discussing the law in every context. Think what would happen today if Christians, instead of discussing politics, TV shows, movies, sports, and traffic, started talking more about the Word of God!

  “What did you learn from the Word today?”

  “Before we discuss our plans, let’s see what counsel we can find in the Bible.”

  Wouldn’t that be a refreshing way to live? Wouldn’t it be a powerful step in putting our hope in Christ and conquering our fears and failings?

  Meditate on the Word Continually

  You shall meditate in it day and night.

  JOSHUA 1:8

  The very idea of meditation seems countercultural. We don’t like anything slow or deliberate, and we particularly hate the idea of quiet. We like things to be fast paced. We like more action and less reflection. We like 140-character tweets instead of in-depth information.

  But meditation—biblical meditation, not the emptying of the mind featured in Eastern religions—is central to the life to which God calls us. It requires that we give up our hurry and listen quietly and deeply to what God has to say. J. I. Packer describes the right way to do it:

  Meditation is the activity of calling to mind, and thinking over, and dwelling on, and applying to oneself, the various things that one knows about the works and ways and purposes and promises of God.

  Its purpose is to . . . let his truth make its full and proper impact on one’s mind and heart. . . . It is, indeed, often a matter of arguing with oneself, reasoning oneself out of moods of doubt and unbelief into a clear apprehension of God’s power and grace.[7]

  Like a cow that chews the same grass over and over to digest it and benefit from it, we meditate on the Word of God by going over and over it in a way that allows God to speak to our hearts and quiet our fears.

  Meditation is preventive maintenance for the mind. We fill every corner of our thinking with rich, eternal truth before the errors of the world can take root there and infect us. We live in this world, and we’ll be exposed to all that is wrong about it. But we can make ourselves resistant to the virus of false ideas. Meditating on God’s Word is inoculation against “every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14).

  David understood the power of meditation. He wrote,

  Oh, how I love Your law!

  It is my meditation all the day.

  You, through Your comma
ndments, make me wiser than my enemies;

  For they are ever with me.

  I have more understanding than all my teachers,

  For Your testimonies are my meditation.

  I understand more than the ancients,

  Because I keep Your precepts.

  PSALM 119:97-100

  Try meditating each day on Philippians 4:13, which reads, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Think about how much more resistant you’d be to the insidious whispers that say, Give up—you can’t do this; God isn’t going to help you. The implanted Word is a bulwark against the lies of the evil one.

  Whichever of those two messages touches your soul most frequently—the voice of courage or the voice of defeat—that’s the one that wins the battle for your mind.

  Read the Word Obediently

  . . . that you may observe to do according to all that is written in [the Book of the Law].

  JOSHUA 1:8

  Notice the phrase observe to do in this passage. It’s easy to pass over these three words as negligible, but in reality they present one of the great concepts of the Old Testament. We are not to read the Bible for information only or just to increase our knowledge. We are to study the Bible to discover God’s will for our lives. We observe in order to do. We observe the Bible in order to obey the Bible.

  One of the most subtle and dangerous errors we can fall into is to view the Bible simply as interesting reading. Yes, it’s timeless literature—fascinating, entertaining, and moving. But at all times the Word of God is no mere book. It’s meant to change who we are and how we live. The Bible’s message can’t simply stop with the mind; it must go on to the heart and the will. We are to be “doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22).