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After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1: 1-9)
After the death of Moses, Israel stood on the threshold of destiny. Their leader was gone, and their wilderness wandering was ending. Before them lay swollen waters, fortified cities, and enemies more numerous than they could count. Into that silence of uncertainty, the Lord spoke to Joshua: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready…” (Joshua 1:2). And three times, like a hammer striking an anvil, He declared: “Be strong and courageous. Be strong and very courageous. Be strong and courageous.”
Is this not the very word our hearts need in the Christian journey? For who among us has not paused to count the cost of following Christ and found it steep? It is steep, costly and to walk this road requires courage to obey and strength to surrender. And yet, God does not leave us guessing, He speaks plainly: courage is not born of willpower but of obedience; prosperity is not measured by accumulation but by walking steadfast in His Word.
Joshua knew this tension well. Forty years earlier, Israel had come to this very edge, but fear triumphed over faith. Twelve spies entered Canaan, but only two—Joshua and Caleb—returned with a good report. They saw the same giants, but through the lens of promise, not fear. The tragedy of that moment is that faithless eyes delayed destiny. The triumph for us is that by faith in Christ, we are modern-day Joshuas and Calebs, called to believe God’s Word over the giants we face. Yet untested faith alone is not enough. As Jesus taught, the seed on good soil must be cultivated to bear fruit (Matthew 13:23). Hearing and believing the Word is only the beginning; living it out in obedience is the real battle.
For Joshua, the death of Moses was the closing of one season and the opening of another. No longer was Israel wandering, now they were warring. And for us, receiving Christ ends the wilderness of identity but begins the lifelong fight to keep that identity rooted in Him. Accepting Jesus is one thing; living out Christ is another. The moment we cross our Jordan, battles begin, battles against sin, compromise, and the stubborn walls of our own hearts.
Joshua faced walled cities and seasoned warriors. We face Jerichos within—pride, lust, fear, bitterness—that resist the Spirit’s work. Some walls crumble, only for others to rise stronger still. Joshua fought until the twilight of his life; so too, we fight until the day Christ calls us home. There is no skipping the refining furnace of trial. God in His wisdom has not whisked us straight into heaven’s perfection but ordained that here, on earth, we daily choose Him after He has chosen us.
And so, why the triple command? “Be strong and courageous.” Because God knows our weakness. He knows the frailty of our hearts, how quickly discouragement comes, how loudly fear speaks. But He also knows what sustains us: “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night” (Joshua 1:8). Courage is not conjured, it is cultivated. Strength is not summoned; it is supplied by the Word. Meditation fuels obedience, obedience fuels courage, and courage sustains the journey.
The same assurances given to Joshua belong to us: “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and are safe” (Proverbs 18:10). “Christ must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:25–26). “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). These promises are not poetic comfort, they are living realities.
So let us rise. Let us take courage. Let us not shrink back in fear or discouragement. For the same God who stood with Joshua at the banks of the Jordan now stands with us at the battles of our faith. And His voice still echoes: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Prayer
Lord,
You know my weakness, and You see my fears. You know the walls that stand tall before me and the battles that weary me.
Yet You speak the same word to me as You did to Joshua: “Be strong and courageous.” Give me courage to obey when obedience feels costly.
Give me strength to surrender when surrender feels impossible. Teach me to meditate on Your Word, day and night until it becomes my breath, my compass, my delight.
Lead me into the promised land of conformity to Christ and keep me pressing on until the day when every wall falls and every enemy bows.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.