Today is day 28, the last day, of the #iheartBible challenge that I’m hosting. If you have joined up, hooray! I’m glad you’re here. If not, you missed out. Maybe we’ll have another challenge later in the year? Interested? Drop me a line! I love Jesus and blogging, so I’m glad to see people joining in.
Today’s verse is Joshua 1.8. Read it below in its context (Why do I care about context?):
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, 2 “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. … 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 your God is with you wherever you go.”
Today’s verse is bookended by commands to be strong and courageous. The verse itself commands Joshua to focus on the Book of the Law–to, in fact, think of it twenty-four seven.
Think about how difficult that would be–to think about the laws of Moses day and night–all the time. I mean, I don’t think it’s any easier for professional ministers. Constantly thinking about God’s word seems impossible; other demands call our attention: children, work, spouses, cleaning the danged house.
What would constant meditation on the Word even look like?
Would it be boring?
Would it be frustrating?
Would anyone, like, even want to be my friend if I only thought about the Word?
But God said that this would help Joshua to be careful to follow God’s law.
That’s a nice perk. Maybe this doesn’t always make a person have immediate friends, but one would certainly be viewed as reliable and steady to others.
On top of that perk, God issues Joshua a promise, which I believe would apply to all of us. He promises Joshua that he will be a successful and prosperous journey.
Gosh, what a promise!
But I also worry that modern people forget what exactly this type of promise means: What is success? What is prosperity? We have our own definitions. How does God define success? prosperity?
This makes me think about my own wavering expectations. We all have these. Sometimes, our goal is to simply get out of bed, shower, and get back into pajamas for the rest of the day. Other days, we expect to complete all of the grocery shopping, clean the entire house, finish the whole laundry process, and post an interesting and creative blog post. What a difference that is!
So, this brings me to my final question for this challenge: What does God have in mind for your success?
Love,
