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“Be strong and courageous” is a familiar admonition for most Christians. It is best known from when God commissioned Joshua to replace Moses in leading Israel into the Promised Land.

There is something in these instructions that I fear many of us miss as we read or study these words from Joshua 1:7-9:

(7)  Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. (8)  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. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (9)  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

God instructs Joshua to be strong and courageous that he “may observe to do according to all the law” that Moses had commanded him. God makes three promises about how things would go if Joshua would obey His commands that should strengthen us as we face the current culture of death that we face.

In verse 7 He says that if Joshua will not turn from the law of God, he will prosper. In verse 8 He promises that if Joshua meditates (gaining knowledge and understanding that would be proven by his observation of the laws) he would add success to his prospering. In verse 9 the Lord again instructs Joshua to be strong and of good courage, not be afraid or become dismayed, because God promises He will never leave nor forsake him.

When we look at the downward spiral of our own culture, it is evident that these instructions and these promises are very important for us to know and observe. We are living in a culture of death which was repeatedly evidenced in the news today.

• More than 63,000,000 babies murdered in their mother’s womb
• Our tax dollars and weapons being supplied that kill and mutilate daily in unjust wars.
• Big pharma caring far more about profits than they do about sick people
• Vaccines designed to stop hearts
• Human Trafficking –pregnancies are not part of the trafficker’s plans – the murder of babies (a.k.a. child sacrifice) abound
• Transgender surgeries that permanently sterilize young people so they never procreate.
• The rise of homosexuality – another “life-style” that cannot pro-create

Standing against all of these things does require us to be strong and courageous because we face a culture that delights in the darkness of this world, that lives to promote more death, who see people as worthless unless they have political or economic standing. Even then, they are disposable when they are no longer of use to whatever “need” they were satisfying (ex. Joe Biden).

But, these huge national (and international) issues are not the only place we are to show strength and courage. God told Joshua (who clearly was facing a big job to move all those Israelites into the Promised Land) that he needed strength and courage to obey the commands given by Moses.

In return for mustering the strength and courage to have no other gods, to make no graven images of God, to keep from taking the Name of the Lord in vain, keeping the Sabbath, and honoring his parents (plus the other five and more), Joshua was setting up the road to success for the bigger (by our standards) works God had given him to do.

Brothers and sisters in the Lord, if we want these cultural horrors to be resolved by the gracious hand of God, we must meditate on His word day and night, “that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

We must be so steeped in the Word of God that we immediately recognize infractions and false teachings.  Remember, our adversary knows God’s word and will work to mislead us by subtle perversions and misdirections.  “Did God really say …?” was his opening line and continues to this day.  If we know God’s word and dedicate ourselves to its Truth then we can properly answer that question.

Please know that our spiritual understanding of God’s laws must have a direct effect on our physical lives on earth. We cannot expect success at abolishing abortion if we are not respecting our husbands (and husband’s loving their wives) or calling out the sins of homosexuality or transgenderism, if we are not obeying God’s commandments as a way of life.

Success in the big works begins by obedience in the routine.