“..the LORD spake unto Joshua…Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise,” (Josh. 1:1-2)
Israel had seen some miraculous things under the courageous leadership of Moses but now there is a problem…Moses is dead! Thankfully, God already had a leader in place; it was Joshua.
The people were still mourning the death of Moses and even Joshua himself had fallen into despair. So, God had to remind him that it was time to get up!
God said, “Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise…” In other words, “Joshua, mourning time is over. It’s time to get up and move forward.” Sure, there is a time for mourning, but at some point, it is time to rise up and go on for God.
There will be times in all of our lives where Satan will knock us down with circumstances that seem to overwhelm us. It may slow us down but we must not let it keep us down!
It was time for Joshua to get a wakeup call from God. He needed to be shaken out of his despair, so God gave him this charge. God knew it would take more than this single challenge to sustain Joshua for the long haul. Therefore, He tells Joshua that if he is going to be successful in his new leadership role it would require a daily reminder from God’s Word; he would have to meditate on the Word of God day and night.
“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” (Josh. 1:8)
The same is true for you and me. Sure, we can go to church three times a week and get encouraged from God’s Word, but if we are going to have a successful walk with God, we will need a daily reminder from God’s Word.
*This devotional is an excerpt from my book: “The Power Of Meditating On Scripture.” You can purchase it on Amazon, HERE.