Joshua 1:5-9 - "...I Will Be With You"

Joshua 1:5-9 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. 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."   Joshua was called by God to lead the people of Israel across the Jordan River, to lead them to victory over their enemies in the Promise Land, and then divide to each of the twelve tribes their inheritance in the land. When we know what our calling in life from God is, rather than trying to accomplish our own personal desires, we will have confidence and courage to face any challenge. For sure God has a plan and purpose for each of our lives, and when we are driven by them, who knows what we might accomplish for His glory and for eternity.   Along with our calling, the LORD also gives us promises to assist us and to encourage us to fulfill His plan and purposes. The LORD God first promised Joshua that he would successfully lead the people of Israel across the Jordan River into the Promise Land (vv. 3-4). As we will see, this was miraculously fulfilled in Joshua chapters 3-4.   Secondly, the LORD also gave Joshua the assignment of defeating their enemies in the land. Remember there were giants there and forty years earlier the ten spies had said that they had appeared as grasshoppers in their sight. With this assignment, God also promised Joshua that as He was with Moses, He would be with him. God promised that He “would not leave him or forsake him”, and He “would be with him wherever he went” (vv. 5 and 9). We will see how that God kept this promise in Joshua chapters 6-12.   My friend, God has given us these same promises as His people. I will never forget when I was called and ordained to the “Gospel Ministry” fifty years ago in Lynchburg Virginia. I was very fearful of getting in front of people. I knew nothing about leadership, except from a few books I had been reading, and from the leaders that were around me as I attended Bible college. Despite my fears, I made the choice to claim God’s promises that I found in His Word during those early days of my Christian life.   I claimed Philippians 1:6 as my life verse: “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”. I also memorized and often reminded myself of 1 Thessalonians 5:24: “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.”   All of us have been greatly encouraged by Psalm 23:1-4 over the years and when our friends and loved ones faced the “valley of the shadow of death. “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”   Today we can also claim Hebrews 13:5-6: “… Be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we may boldly say: "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"  This is a quote from Joshua 1:5! The Gospel of Matthew opens with "Emmanuel... God with us" (1:23), and closes with Jesus saying, "Lo, I am with you always" (28:20).   I trust that you will be blessed and encouraged today as you remember these great promises and claim them for yourself!   God bless!