I Will Not Fail You

When the children of Israel were about to invade the land of Canaan, after spending 40 years wandering in the wilderness, God commissioned Joshua, the son of Nun to replace Moses. He told him, "From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory. No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you” (Joshua 1:4,5). What a way to start a new job! I know there are times when we start a new job (or just continue in the old one) when we feel as though we were invading Canaan. And sometimes that feeling is justified. Still, it is comforting to know that the same God Who spoke those words of comfort to Joshua, stands beside you and me in the most difficult of times.

One of my favorite themes of Scripture is that of warfare. There is something that stirs my heart when I consider the descriptions made in the Bible of the soldiers of the cross; the “good fight”; the glory of our victory in Jesus. The Israelites were told that “no man will be able to stand before you.” However, they were still going to have to fight. To fight is a scary concept for most of us. We do not like to fight. We do not want to fight, but we have to fight. When you go into the fight, take this bit of advice with you: “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” (Joshua 1:7). Of course, we do not live under the law of Moses anymore, but we do live under a law which God expects us to obey. It is the Law of Christ (Galatians 6:2); the law of faith (Romans 3:27); the perfect law of liberty (James 1:25).

I cannot make this point strongly enough: if you will face your enemies, careful to do according to the law of Christ and not turn from it to the right or to the left, you will have success wherever you go. Does this mean that faithful Christians never have to worry about being laid off from their jobs or fired for standing for what is right? No, it does not! Sometimes Christians do suffer for their faith. So, what does this promise mean to us? The “success” that Scripture promises us if we obey this command today is true, eternal success. You may lose your job, your friends, your family, even your life, but if you remain steadfast at the side of God Almighty, your real enemy will never be able to beat you.

The key is our faithfulness to God and His will. Joshua 1:8 says, “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 success.” Again, the book of law in Joshua’s day was the Law of Moses (including the Ten Commandments) and that law has been nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:13,14; Ephesians 2:14-16). Today, we need to meditate on the whole of the Bible just as much (day and night) in order to have the strength to contend with the one who would bring us down. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). This week, when you go out to work or to school, to start a new job or continue with an old one, be strong and courageous. Do not tremble, be dismayed or afraid because God is with you wherever you go. He loves you and so do I.