Summer Vacation

After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful 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. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:1-9 ESV). Our reading today gives us a glimpse of the courage of Joshua. It couldn’t have been easy for him to take the lead in delivering Israel into the Promised Land without Moses. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that God understood this fear and gave him information he needed to be able to accomplish the calling to lead. In many ways the month of August is something of a scary month for many people. This is especially true of children and teens with the start of school coming in just a few days or weeks. For many of them there are lots of questions to be answered. It is like being on the border of a new country. Adults face the same temptation to fear as well. There are very few of us who can say with certainly what our day will be like. There is always a sense of uncertainty about our immediate future. Like Joshua we can easily be shaken with a real reason to be frightened. Think about Joshua. He had been Moses’ helper, but now the responsibility for all these people was his. Plus they were supposed to strike off into new territory and wage war on the inhabitants. God knew Joshua was scared. In one paragraph, he commands Joshua three times, “Be strong and courageous!” It sounds much easier than it really is to do. However, the key is that God is always gracious. God brackets this powerful paragraph with a twice-repeated promise (verses 5 and 9b): “I will be with you everywhere you go.” What new venture does God want you to start? Trust him to be with you and empower you. Listen, obey, trust God and begin!