Joshua had some pretty big shoes to fill with the passing of Moses. The pressure to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land was enough to keep anyone up at night. Though the nation was by most standards considered small, Joshua now found himself in charge of leading TWO million people into unknown territory.

We can learn a lot from this exciting true story found in the book of Joshua.

Though we might not be handed off two million people to lead, many of us have found ourselves being called to walk forward into lands and territories that require us to be strong and courageous when we feel anything but.

• Maybe you are a first-time mom, and you feel ill-equipped to mother the baby in your arms.
• Maybe you have been given the responsibility to lead a team at your new job, and you don’t know where to start.
• Maybe you are a single parent now having to lead your family forward into the unknown future.
• Maybe you received some devastating news, and you don’t even know how to move forward.

I find it interesting the very first thing God says to Joshua, after announcing that Moses is dead, is basically “to get moving.”

“After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’s aide. “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all the people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them…” – Joshua 1:1-2

God gets to the point. “Moses is dead; I’ve now put you in charge….get your people moving.”

Like Joshua, God has a mission and purpose for each of us, and He’s ready for us to get going too!

So many of us, including me, spend too much time in the wilderness of unbelief and fear. We don’t take God at His Word and believe the promise that He is always with us.

We stay frozen in wildernesses of shame, regret, and unforgiveness, and we can’t seem to move forward no matter how badly we want to.

What I LOVE about today’s passage are God’s constant reminders that:

1. He is with us always
2. We can choose to be brave and courageous

I know It’s hard to leave the known…. even if it is bad for us, for the new land of the unknown. I honestly get it. I’ve been there, too.

But we must.

We must leave behind the old and embrace the new territories, new opportunities….and new land God is calling us to travel into.

We must choose faith over fear — obedience over complacency.

The new territories, new lands, new horizons God is calling each of us to cross means we must choose His ways over our way. His directions over our own. It will take courage to trust God, and it will require us to be brave when we want to hide.

And in those moments, when our hearts feel weak, and our fear begins to rise inside us…that’s when we need to remember God’s promise…He is always with us.

ALWAYS.

Wherever God calls us to go, never forget He will also lead…if we let Him.

So what did Joshua do to follow God’s leading? What was his secret to success as he courageously led his two million plus people into the Promise Land?

We find the secret in verse 8 of Joshua 1.

“Do not let this Book of the law depart from your mouth; 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.” Joshua 1:8

The secret is knowing God’s Word and doing it! Being in His Word, allowing it to fill our minds and then doing what the Bible says is Joshua’s secret to success!

• Choosing to be brave in spite of what we see with our eyes.
• Choosing to be courageous even when we find ourselves in the minority.
• Choosing to love the way He loves.
• Choosing to serve the way He served.
• Choosing to value what He values.
• And allowing God’s Word to impact all areas of our lives. Letting His Word be our guide.

That is what real success looks like in God’s eyes.

Now is the time for us to rise up. We need to be the church God is calling us to be. We need to be strong, we need to be courageous, and we need to be willing to go into the darkness. After all, we are lights that should burn brightly for our Lord. We are not meant to be hidden under a basket but displayed on “hills” in our neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, government and yes, even churches.

We are to be light bearers to a world in desperate need to see Jesus in us.

We are to be women who take God’s Word to the ends of the earth and down our streets.

Like Joshua, when we live our lives courageously and bravely living God’s Word out in our lives and allowing it to influence all aspects of our lives, that is when we will find real success, not worldly success.

Now is the time, sweet sisters to move forward into the new territory God has prepared for us. May we hold God’s Word close to our hearts and meditate on it day and night, not submitting to the pressure of our societies but bravely and courageously doing everything that is written in it.

One step at a time with God leading the way…let’s go!

Love God Greatly!

Challenge: How can you be brave and courageous being a light bearer in your world? What steps do you need to take today?

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Angela Perritt

Angela Perritt is the founder and director of LoveGodGreatly.com, a nonprofit online Bible study ministry reaching thousands of women in over two hundred countries around the world with God’s Word through their translated Bible studies. She and her husband live in Dallas, Texas with their three daughters. Angela is passionate about God’s Word and believes one woman in God’s Word can change a family, community and ultimately a nation. Her greatest joy is to encourage her children and others to love God greatly with their lives one day at a time. You can connect with her on Instagram.