NorthStar Community Daily Devotional

March 22

Scripture focus: Be strong and very courageous. Obey all the laws Moses gave you. Do not turn away from them, and you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of the Law continually. Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it. Only then will you succeed. Joshua 1:7-8

One of the gems of a man in the Old Testament is a guy named Joshua. He’s one of the two spies who never lost sight of God as he was scoping out the competition in the Promised Land. Born into slavery in Egypt, he was the man after Moses – eventually leading the charge and takeover of the Promised Land.

Joshua was the kind of guy who listened and obeyed God. Then he would turn to God’s people and teach them the lessons God shared with him. Joshua was a success story in a long history of mixed results from God followers.

Joshua reminds me of the current hit television show, The Biggest Loser. When those folks get introduced at the start of each new season, it’s hard to imagine such morbidly obese people ever being able to uncover their inner skinny selves – but many of them do. Some of them manage to keep the weight off afterwards as well.

It would have been easy for Joshua to put down his weapons and join the other spies in discouraging a foray into the Promised Land. He could have gotten discouraged about that whole incident when Moses lost his temper and his right to lead his people into the new territory. No one would have blamed him for believing he was made for slavery, not freedom. If Joshua had become clinically depressed, no one would have shamed him for his stressed out brain having some neuro-chemical deficiencies!

But Joshua believed. He believed God. He trusted God more than he doubted himself.

I’m in the middle of a really big project – it’s way over my head. I’ve got at least a million reasons why I cannot succeed. But I have one really big reason to try it anyway - God said: Be strong and very courageous. Obey all the laws Moses gave you. Do not turn away from them, and you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of the Law continually. Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it. Only then will you succeed.

I cannot control much in this world. But I can believe. That’s the choice I get to make. My new adventure may or may not succeed – but I am compelled to not turn away from a challenge just because it looks like where I’m headed is a land filled with giants.

May you ignore the giants and keep your eyes on God today.


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