Obedience – Joshua 1:7
Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go.
The Lord said, “Arise, cross the Jordan, you and all this people,”[1] and Joshua, understanding absolute obedience, arose and lead the people across the River Jordan.
God told Joshua to go into the place He had prepared for him, and Joshua went into that place. Without questioning, He obeyed God, trusting the Lord would not fail him or forsake him.[2] Joshua did exactly what God told him to do, walking straight ahead, completing the mission assigned to him, faithfully obeying the law, which the Lord had given to him.[3] As he did so, God supplied in abundance what Joshua needed to accomplish His purposes, and He richly rewarded Joshua and the people with him for remaining on the road He had laid before them.
God used Joshua mightily to bring success to his people and himself, just as He does with His people today. He has not changed,[4] nor has His personal involvement in the lives of His chosen ones diminished through the ages. Rather, through His Word and Spirit, He continues to guide us today as He did in the ancient times of Moses and Joshua. He has a highly desirable plan for us, and we have merely to follow His instructions to receive His best. Though He may lead us through forests ablaze with fire and rivers raging from persistent rain, allowing us to endure dire circumstances at times, He assures us, if we will obey Him, we will know abiding wellness.[5] He promises to provide for us and to protect us if we will hold fast to all His teaching, not to some, but to all His teaching.[6] Wanting our ultimate good, He tells us to keep our eyes on the path ahead, lest we veer off it, finding ourselves in the wilderness rather than the land of milk and honey.[7]
Live in the joy obedience to God
brings. As you travel along the path
leading to life, seek to know the Lord’s direction for you through the study of
His Word, prayer, and attention to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Trust the Lord, and having discerned His
direction, do what He tells you to do.
Go where He tells you to go. Know
that He who is faithfulness wrapped in divinity will be faithful to you. Obey Him, following where He leads,[8] and you will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of
the living.[9]
Arise, and cross into the land
I’ve prepared for you alone
Look neither left, nor to the right
Look only where My light has shone
Avoid the dangers off the road
In regions where the foolish tread
The light that shines upon your way
Will keep your heart from the dread
Known by those who leave the course
To enter places bleak and stark
Abandoning the road to go
Into corners cold and dark
So follow Me into the land
Since I have cleared the path before
The one who trusts fully in Me
The one whose way is safe, secure
[1] Joshua 1:2
[2] Deuteronomy 31:8, Joshua 1:5
[3] Joshua 1:10-15
[4] Psalm 102:25-27
[5] Jeremiah 7:23
[6] Deuteronomy 28:1-2
[7] Proverbs 4:25
[8] Deuteronomy 29:9
[9] Psalm 27:13
