I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:9)
These words are my new mantra for each day.
Joshua is the story of the Israelites' entry into Canaan (the promised land) after forty years of wandering in the wilderness. Led by Joshua, the successor to Moses, the Israelites conquer the Canaanites and then redistribute the land to the twelve tribes of Israel. The book ends with a covenant renewal ceremony, in which both Joshua and the Israelites declare, "We will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:21).
The book of Joshua tells of God's fulfillment of God's promises, the promises to Abraham in Genesis 12 that he will be blessed with many descendants and with the land of Canaan. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob never see the fulfillment of those promises, and their descendants become slaves in Egypt. God frees them from that slavery, but the Israelites still find themselves in the wilderness, outside the land of promise. The book of Joshua is the fulfillment of centuries of longing and waiting on the part of Israel. As such, it is a witness to God's faithfulness to God's people, both then and now.
God keeps God's promises. God will remain with us in all that life brings our way. We can trust God.
Therefore we can find strength and courage to live fully into God's blessings each day, even amidst our fear, uncertainty, and sin. For God will never abandon us.
You keep promises, O God. May we keep our promise of faith in our love toward you and our love of our neighbor. Amen.
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