Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success
How confident are you regarding the future? What about the economy? Do you think that is going to go well for us in the next five months or five years? What about the government? Are you confident about the people running the show in Washington? What about your own health? Are you confident that you will be healthier next year than you are this year? There are so many things we could think, stew, and worry about if we choose to do that.
If our future hangs on things we can only control to some extent if at all, then we probably have a fairly dour view of the future. Now some people just don’t think about the future and their attitude is “eat and drink for tomorrow we die.” They are having a good time now, but have no confidence about the future. People must realize that the future they anticipate will be no greater than the god they serve.
In Joshua 1, Joshua was about to take on immense responsibility. Moses was dead and God was bringing forth Joshua. Moses was God’s servant and Joshua was Moses’ servant. He had been training for many a year to do exactly what God had prepared him to do, lead His people into the land of Canaan.
One theme you find over and again in the first chapter of Joshua is God’s instruction to Joshua to be strong and of a good courage. He says it several times. For instance, in verse 6 God says, “Be strong and of a good courage; for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.” So, the future you anticipate will be no greater than the god you serve and the God that Joshua was serving was Jehovah. The God who had made a promise. God said, “I will not forsake you. I will be with you just as I was with Moses. Be strong and of a good courage.”
Joshua’s courage was based upon God’s presence. Again, in verse 9 God says, “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.” Joshua’s courage was based in part upon God’s promise and God’s presence. Joshua was assured of both God’s promise, that He would give them what He had created, and that God would be with him. It wasn’t just that God was sending these people; God was leading these people. This is something a couple of the tribes confirmed to Joshua in the last verse of this chapter where they say, “Only be strong and of a good courage.” So, the future you anticipate will be no greater than the god you serve.
We have God’s promise and God’s presence. The thing that brings those two together is God’s Word. What has God actually said? Verse 8 says, “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”
Now, Joshua and the Israelites did not have nearly the Scripture we have now. It was not yet completed, but notice three things. First, the object is God’s Word. There is no stability in life without a fixed truth, without something that is objectively true. That is what you have in the Word of God. Even that portion that Joshua had would have reminded him of God’s promise, and God was reminding Joshua of His presence. So, the object is God’s Word.
Second, the action is meditation. God says, “But thou shalt mediate therein day and night.” This is not simply reading God’s Word; it is thinking on God’s Word. I have often said, “Read less. Think more.” Now, Reading the Bible is important. You can’t think on something you have never read, and if you don’t think about what you’ve read or even know what you have read, then why are you wasting your time? The whole purpose of reading the Bible is to get it into your noggin, to think about it, to saturate your mind with it, to think God’s thoughts. That is where success comes from. So, how do you spend your time and how do you spend your mind?
Third, the result is success and prosperity. It is very obvious to me that God’s definition of prosperity is different than ours. Our version of prosperity is primarily wealth, which is a very simplistic version of prosperity. Then, we may consider good health to be a success. Of course, both those things are desirable I suppose, but that is not the success that God is talking about. He is talking about prosperous success, success in living the life that God created one to live.
That is what Joshua was to do. He was to be prosperous and successful. If you look at other places where God talks about them succeeding, it was not talking about having victory per se, but coming in succession, coming after those who were in Canaan. God made the land; God gave the land, and success was attaining all that God intended. Success is not doing better than the next guy, having the amount of market share for whatever it is that we want, or amassing just one more dollar. Success is attaining all that God intends. How do we know what God intends? Well, this is where we come back to God’s Word, mediating on it and then doing something with it.
So, what does the future hold? You and I don’t know, but we serve a God who has given us His sure Word, His promises, and His presence. The future you anticipate can be bright, not because everything is going perfectly, but because the future you anticipate will be no greater than the god you serve. That is why we should serve the Lord God of creation.