anchored daily ~ JOSHUA


  • Joshua 24:14–15 — “Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served... And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve... But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (NKJV)

     

    Joshua was nearing the end of his life.

     

    Before giving Israel this famous challenge, he gathered the nation together and reminded them of their story.

     

    God had called Abraham. God had delivered them from Egypt. God had brought them through the Red Sea. God had defeated their enemies. God had given them the land.

     

    Again and again in Joshua 24, God says, “I gave... I sent... I brought...”

     

    Then Joshua says:

     

    “Now therefore...”

     

    In other words, because of everything God has done, choose how you will respond.

     

    But there is a surprising detail in Joshua's challenge. He tells Israel to “put away the gods” that were among them.

     

    These were the people who had crossed the Jordan. They had watched Jericho fall. They had experienced God's power and received His promises.

     

    Yet some were apparently still holding onto other gods.

     

    They wanted the LORD without completely letting go of everything else.

     

    Joshua tells them that won't work.

     

    “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.”

     

    We may not have carved idols sitting in our homes, but the human heart is still capable of divided allegiance. Anything we allow to compete with Jesus for our deepest devotion can begin taking a place that belongs to Him alone.

     

    That's why Joshua's words still confront us.

     

    Following God isn't simply acknowledging that He exists. It is surrendering ourselves to Him because we recognize who He is and remember what He has done.

     

    Jesus would later say, “No one can serve two masters” (Matthew 6:24).

     

    Eventually, we have to choose.

     

    And for those of us who know Jesus, we make that choice looking back at something even greater than Israel's deliverance from Egypt or victories in Canaan.

     

    We look back at the cross.

     

    Jesus gave Himself completely for us.

     

    How can our response be anything less than giving ourselves completely to Him?

     

    Joshua made his decision:

     

    “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

     

    The question is whether we have made ours.

     

    Truth to Stay Anchored In: Jesus did not give Himself partially for us. He gave Himself completely. Remember what He has done, put away whatever competes for your heart, and choose whom you will serve.

  • Joshua 9:14 — “Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions; but they did not ask counsel of the LORD.” (NKJV)

     

    The Gibeonites knew they couldn't defeat Israel, so they decided to deceive them.

     

    They put old sacks on their donkeys, wore worn-out clothes and patched sandals, and carried dry, moldy bread. Then they came to Joshua claiming they had traveled from a distant country.

     

    The evidence looked convincing.

     

    Joshua and Israel's leaders examined their provisions, listened to their story, and made a covenant with them.

     

    Then Scripture gives us the detail that explains everything:

     

    “But they did not ask counsel of the LORD.”

     

    That's what makes this passage so convicting.

     

    Israel didn't make this decision because they had no information.

     

    They made it because they thought the information they had was enough.

     

    Everything they could see pointed toward the same conclusion. The bread was old. The wineskins were worn. The sandals were patched.

     

    What could possibly go wrong?

     

    Three days later, they discovered the truth.

     

    There are decisions in life where the wrong choice looks obviously wrong. But sometimes the greater danger is a decision that looks so obviously right that we don't think we need to seek God about it.

     

    We examine the circumstances. We weigh the options. We listen to advice. None of those things are wrong.

     

    But they cannot replace seeking the Lord.

     

    Proverbs tells us, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5–6).

     

    Jesus modeled this dependence perfectly. Before choosing the twelve apostles, He “continued all night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12). The Son of God did not move independently from His Father.

     

    How much more should we seek Him?

     

    Sometimes the most dangerous decisions aren't the ones that confuse us.

     

    They're the ones we're certain we can handle without asking God.

     

    Truth to Stay Anchored In: Don't mistake having enough information for having God's direction. Even when the answer seems obvious, seek the Lord before you move.

  • 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.