anchored daily ~ JOSHUA


  • Joshua 7:10–11 — “So the LORD said to Joshua: ‘Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? Israel has sinned...’” (NKJV)

     

    Israel had just watched the walls of Jericho fall.

     

    Then they went against Ai, a much smaller city, expecting another victory.

     

    Instead, they were defeated.

     

    Joshua was devastated. He tore his clothes, fell facedown before the ark, and remained there until evening. He couldn't understand what had happened, so he cried out to God.

     

    Then came God's surprising response:

     

    “Get up!”

     

    Joshua didn't yet know what Achan had done. While Israel had been commanded not to take the devoted things from Jericho, Achan secretly took some of them and buried them beneath his tent.

     

    Joshua came before God looking for an answer.

     

    God gave him one.

     

    There was sin in the camp.

     

    And once God revealed the problem, Joshua couldn't remain on his face. It was time to get up and deal with what God had shown him.

     

    There's an important lesson in that.

     

    Prayer should bring us before God with our questions, struggles, and confusion. But sometimes the answer God gives isn't simply comfort. Sometimes He puts His finger on something in our lives that needs to change.

     

    And when He does, prayer must lead to obedience.

     

    Maybe His Word exposes an attitude we've excused. A relationship we need to make right. Something we've been unwilling to surrender. At that point, we don't need to keep asking God what to do when He has already made it clear.

     

    Achan's mistake was that he tried to bury what God already saw.

     

    We don't have to.

     

    Because of Jesus, we can bring our sin into the light. Scripture tells us, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

     

    Achan buried his sin beneath his tent.

     

    Jesus invites us to bring ours into the light.

     

    So come honestly before God. Listen to what He reveals through His Word. And when He shows you something that needs to change, don't hide it, excuse it, or pray around it.

     

    Get up and obey.

     

    Truth to Stay Anchored In: Prayer brings us before God, but obedience responds to what He reveals. When God makes something clear, don't bury it—bring it into the light and follow Him.

  • Joshua 1:9 — “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (NKJV)

     

    Joshua had every reason to feel the weight of what was ahead.

     

    Moses was dead. Israel needed a new leader. The Jordan River stood before them, and beyond it were fortified cities, powerful enemies, and battles Joshua had never fought before.

     

    Then God tells him three times in the opening chapter:

     

    “Be strong and courageous.”

     

    But here's what I love about God's command.

     

    God never tells Joshua to be courageous because Joshua is capable.

     

    He tells him to be courageous because God is with him.

     

    That's an important difference.

     

    Biblical courage isn't convincing ourselves that we're strong enough to handle whatever comes next. Sometimes we're not. Courage is moving forward in obedience because we know the One who goes with us is greater than whatever stands before us.

     

    God also tells Joshua, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you” (Joshua 1:5).

     

    Think about what Joshua had already witnessed.

     

    He had seen God divide the Red Sea. He had watched manna fall from heaven. He had seen God's faithfulness throughout forty years in the wilderness.

     

    Now the God Joshua had watched work through Moses was telling him, I will be with you too.

     

    Joshua's assignment had changed.

     

    God hadn't.

     

    And neither has He today.

     

    Before Jesus sent His disciples into the world with a mission far greater than anything they could accomplish themselves, He gave them essentially the same promise: “Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

     

    Jesus didn't promise His followers that obedience would always be easy.

     

    He promised they would never obey alone.

     

    Maybe there's something in front of you right now that feels bigger than you.

     

    That's okay.

     

    The question isn't whether you're big enough for what lies ahead.

     

    The question is whether God will be with you there.

     

    And He has already answered that.

     

    Truth to Stay Anchored In: Courage isn't confidence that we can handle what lies ahead. It's confidence that wherever God leads us, He will be there with us.