“7 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. 8 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. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord you God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:7-9
You could probably boil these three verses down to three simple themes: Stand – Stay – Trust.
• Stand on God's commands (v. 7).
• Stay in God's Word (v. 8).
• Trust God's presence (v. 9).
Life is full of moments when we stand on the edge of
something unknown.
A young man or woman leaving home.
A couple beginning a marriage.
Parents bringing home their first child.
Someone receiving a difficult diagnosis.
Losing a spouse.
Retirement.
Simply living faithfully in a world that seems increasingly hostile to Christianity.
That is just a few of the things we can face every day which can carry an element of the unknown with them.
Most of us don't fear hard work. We fear the unknown.
Joshua knew exactly how that felt. For forty years he had followed Moses through the wilderness. And at this point in our text of the book of Joshua, Moses was dead. The greatest leader Israel had ever known was gone.
And now God said, "Joshua...it's your turn."
Imagine the weight of that responsibility. More than two million people, an unconquered land with powerful enemies and a river standing between him and the promise.
If anyone ever had reason to feel overwhelmed, Joshua certainly did. Yet God's answer wasn't to give Joshua a detailed battle plan.
God simply repeated one message over and over: "Be strong and courageous." There is a lesson here for every Christian.
I. Courage Begins With Obedience (v.7a)
"7a Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you."
Joshua 1:7a
Notice something surprising here.
God doesn't mention military strength first. Instead, He mentions obedience to His law which He gave to them through Moses. This is because Joshua's success would never depend primarily upon swords.
It would depend upon submission to Jehovah’s will.
Many people think courage means just charging head on into the fray, and it can, but biblical courage means obeying God even when you're afraid. There is an enormous difference.
Anyone can act recklessly. But only a faithful servant can obey when obedience is costly.
Consider Daniel in the book of Daniel and chapter 6. Talk about a steady faith under pressure! Let’s set the scene here. King Darius issued a law forbidding prayer to anyone but the king. Daniel, however, continued his normal practice of praying three times a day with his windows open toward Jerusalem.
It took courage to open those windows. Not because he expected to survive but because he knew he probably would not. The key takeaway from this is that despite the danger of the consequences from the king by violating his order, Daniel stayed faithful to God. Daniel’s devotion to God remained unchanged even when the cost could very well be his own life.
Now THAT is courage. Doing right regardless of the consequences.
Sometimes the hardest courage isn't standing before giants. It could be something closer to home. Such as:
• Refusing to take part in dishonest business practices.
• Remaining faithful to your spouse.
• Speaking kindly when we get angry.
• Standing for Biblical truth when society mocks it.
• Refusing to compromise worship because culture prefers something else.
Real courage is obedience.
II. Courage Refuses to Drift (v.7b)
"7b Do not turn from it (God’s word) to the right hand or to the left, that you may have success whereever you go."
Joshua 1:7b
This imagery is beautiful. God pictures His Word as a road. Joshua wasn't instructed to invent a new road. He was told to stay on the right road.
Most people don't abandon God overnight. They drift. One small compromise, one neglected prayer, one worldly influence, one missed assembly. I hated missing worship last week due to the issues I was having with my leg muscles, but you know what… missing worship one time can make it so much easier to just be lazy and miss it a second and third time until you don’t go at all anymore. I can speak to that truth because I have shamefully lived that before. Little by little people, even God’s people, can drift.
Consider a ship crossing the Atlantic ocean. It can miss its destination by hundreds of miles because its compass was off by only a single degree.
Tiny deviations produce enormous consequences.
Our culture constantly encourages adjustment.
"Modernize." "Update." "Everyone else is doing it." Sounds familiar doesn’t it. Almost every other religion has instrumental music, but God’s instruction never included the use of instruments in the worship. God's instruction remains unchanged. Don't turn left, don't turn right. Walk the path.
The church doesn't need innovation. It needs faithfulness.
III. Courage Is Built Upon God's Word (v.8)
"8 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."
Joshua 1:8 (NIV)
Notice three actions in that verse.
Speak it – Think it – Live it.
Let’s talk about each of these actions, starting with “speak it.”
Speak it. Joshua was to talk about God's Word. What fills our conversation usually fills our hearts. Many Christians know sports statistics, they know politics, or stock prices or one I’m definitely guilty of is knowing movie trivia. Now in and of themselves there is nothing wrong or sinful in knowing these things, but how much scripture do we know? How many verses can we quote? And I’m not here before you saying I’m any better, because I’m definitely not. I’ve always had a difficult time remembering scriptures even though I know what the Bible teaches and if questioned I know how to search for the answer in the Bible.
Yet how often do we discuss scripture outside of Sunday morning worship and Sunday school?
God is telling us here to keep His Word on YOUR lips. Speak it!
Secondly, Think about it.
"8b…you shall meditate on it (His word) day and night..."
Joshua 1:8b
Biblical meditation isn't emptying the mind. It's filling the mind.
The Hebrew word here for meditation is “hagah” and it carries the idea of murmuring, pondering, musing. A related Hebrew word is “siach” which also carries the idea of pondering or speaking to oneself.
By way of an illustration, a cow chews its cud repeatedly. Now if you don’t know what cud is then I recommend you look it up as it is a little on the gross side. But the cow doesn't swallow once and move on. Instead, it continually draws nourishment.
Christians should treat Scripture the same way. Continually drawing nourishment from the scriptures by examining them, contemplating what it says, and studying them, as 2 Timothy 2:15 says in the KJV “to show thyself approved unto God…”
Think about it.
Thirdly, Live it
"8c...that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it."
Joshua 1:8c
Live it. Knowledge without obedience creates pride while obedience creates wisdom.
Many Christians know more Bible than they practice.
But Joshua was told to not merely admire it but to live it. This is reiterated in the New Testament isn’t it:
“22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only…”
James 1:22
And again a few verses down:
“25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”
James 1:25
In other words, study the Word of God. Don’t be someone who just reads it, closes the Bible and promptly forgets what he just read and doesn’t apply it to his life. Instead, the verse pleads with us to act on what we read. To apply that reading to our lives.
Live it.
IV. Courage Depends Upon God's Presence (v.9)
In our text from Joshua 1:7-9, perhaps the greatest promise in this passage is
"9b …for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
Joshua 1:9b
Notice what God does not promise. He doesn't promise:
• No battles.
• No hardships.
• No losses.
• No disappointments.
Instead He simply promises: "I'll be with you." And that is enough.
But that promise is conditional. Earlier in verse 9 He tells us “Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed…” We will have those battles, those hardships. We’ll experience loss and disappointment in life. But He is telling us that despite those things, if we adhere to His Word then we will come through it all because He will be there with us, giving us the strength that we need to see us through those dark moments in life.
A thunderstorm comes and the power goes out. But a small child isn't afraid of the dark. He's unafraid because his father is holding his hand. The darkness still remains, its still there. But so is the father.
That is Jehovah’s promise in Joshua.
That is our promise.
Our Father, our Creator is always here with us.
V. Christian Courage Is Greater Than Joshua's
Joshua's promise pointed toward something even greater. And under the New Covenant we have blessings Joshua never possessed.
We have:
• The complete revealed Word of God
• Christ, the son of God, as our High Priest and not a man.
• Forgiveness through His blood, that is the Christ’s blood instead of having our sins rolled forward each year as in the Old Testament.
• We have the indwelling influence of God's Spirit through His revealed Word.
• The church.
• The promise of heaven.
And Jesus echoed Joshua's promise in the gospel of Matthew.
"20b and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Or as the KJV says “…to the end of the world.”
Matthew 28:20b
The same God who stood beside Joshua stands beside His people today.
So, what are some practical applications we can draw from our scripture?
For young people (and this can apply to all of us too) - Have courage to remain pure. Despite what the world will tell you. Purity is never outdated. That purity isn’t just sexual purity, it’s also purity of heart by not lying, not cheating, not disobeying the laws of the land and so much more.
If you are a parent - Have the courage to raise children according to scripture even when society disagrees with what scripture directs us to do.
For older Christians - Have courage to finish well. Many start faithfully. Few finish faithfully. The journey through life to it’s end is often not an easy one so we need courage throughout our life so that we may finish our lives faithful to Jehovah God and His Word.
For the congregation - Continue standing upon Scripture. Never apologize for following God's pattern. Never exchange truth for popularity. Just because some other religion is doing something doesn’t mean we should be doing it to keep up with the times.
During the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, workers were terrified and the work slowed down. Eleven men had fallen to their deaths. It wasn’t until engineers installed an enormous safety net beneath the bridge that something remarkable happened. The work actually sped up. Not because the work became easier. But because fear no longer controlled the workers.
In the same way, Christians should labor with confidence—not because there is no danger, but because we know the everlasting arms of God are beneath us Deuteronomy confirms this in Chapter 33, verse 27:
“27 The eternal God is your dwelling place (KJV says “refuge”)and underneath are the everlasting arms. And He thrust out the enemy before you…”
Deuteronomy 33:27
That assurance gives us the courage to continue living our Christian lives with Jehovah God as our protector.
Joshua stood before an uncrossed river, and unknown battles, victories and hardships.
God didn't tell him everything that would happen.
He simply said:
"Be strong and courageous...for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
That promise carried Joshua through every battle. And it will carry us through ours as well.
Whether we face illness, financial uncertainty, family struggles, temptation or even death itself... our courage does not come from ourselves.
It comes from the God who walks beside His faithful people.
Perhaps someone today has been trying to face life's battles alone.
You were never meant to.
Strength begins with surrender to God.
If you have never obeyed the gospel—believing in Christ, repenting of your sins, confessing His name, and being baptized for the forgiveness of sins - Acts 2:38. And in Romans 6:3-4 we read:
“3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”
Romans 6:3-4
Today is the day to begin walking with the Lord. The Lord who never forsakes His people.
If you have wandered from that path, remember Joshua's charge: do not turn to the right or to the left. Return to the Lord, and He is faithful to forgive you.
Let us leave this place determined not merely to admire courage, but to live courage—strengthened by God's Word, committed to faithful obedience, and confident that wherever life leads, "the LORD thy God is with you wherever you go."
"Stand. Stay. Trust."
Stand on God's commands (v. 7).
Stay in God's Word (v. 8).
Trust God's presence (v. 9).
That’s a simple progression and easy to remember long after we leave here this morning. We only have to put it into practice in our lives.
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