September 19th, 2024
7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 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. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
When you live in North America long enough you soon become overly aware that many people worship some secular form of success. Among the business class and the wealthy are all those individuals trying to sell us their version or their formula for success. However, all of us must understand that the world seeks to measure accomplishment and prosperity in vastly different ways from the God of the Bible. We can already tell that from our passage before us today.
There is no doubt that our heavenly father desires to see each one of us become successful in the earthly years allotted to us. We can be sure that a disparaging or miserable life is not the will of God for any one of us. However, we should be very careful not to impose our false notions of success on God. Are you connecting success to money? Or to fame and power? Or maybe it is connected to the perfect job and the ideal home. The problem with all of these definitions is that they are completely disconnected from God and His revealed plan for us. And therefore, if our version of success can be achieved without Him, then we must say that it is altogether worthless.
The Lord speaks to Joshua in our passage today and gives him very specific instructions for walking along the pathways of success and prosperity in this life. It has nothing to do with a 10-step plan or by becoming the person with the greatest connections through worldly strategies. It is simply in becoming obedient to the law of the Lord. Too many of us believe we can pursue anything in this life and then call down the favour of God whenever we want at whatever time we need it. This isn't the case when we read our Bibles. God's favour of blessing and success is conditional upon our allegiance and submission to every word written in His book.
In our text, He tells Joshua two times to "be careful." This phrase means that we are to diligently keep watch over our lives and see to it that we are not looking to the left, neither to the right. We are keeping our eyes perfectly focused on doing all that God asks of us. Jesus phrased it this way, "seek first God's kingdom and His righteousness, and all other things will be added to us" (Matthew 6:33). It is only then that we will experience the prosperity and favour of the Lord. Does that mean that our obedience guarantees that we will be rich and wealthy? Not necessarily. It really means that when we obey, we can always find ourselves underneath the divine provision and protection of our Father.
Joshua and the Israelites went on to face many enemies right after these words were spoken. The times that they were faithful to God's command, they found victory and triumph. This ought to tell us that we won't be able to avoid all trouble or calamity. However, when these moments arise, we never have to be discouraged nor afraid because we have determined to put our full trust in the Lord. In all reality, the only times we should be afraid is if we ever find ourselves wandering away from His commands into a life of disobedience. At those moments, it is very possible that God might remove His favor and blessing from us. He will do this to show us that we will never be successful apart from His gracious hand.
If we want success and to be well established in this life, the Lord's message is clear. Commit your work to the Lord in every single way and He will establish our plans (Proverbs 16:3). Do not let your mind be conformed to the worldly metrics of success, rather be transformed by a renewed mind that you might test and know the will of God (Romans 12:2). Lastly, don't worship money, riches and lavish comfort. Learn as Paul did the art of contentment which is the definition of true godly success. He knew what it was to be in need and to have plenty. But he learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. He was able to endure all things because of Christ who gave him strength (Philippians 4:11-13). And certainly today, we too, can endure all circumstances because it is the Lord Jesus Christ who is strengthening us.