No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life
(Josh. 1:5-9)
To live a successful new year, what kind of attitude do we have in faith? Today's scripture reading is the message given to Joshua when he went forward to Canaan.
1. Faith of going with God
God said to Joshua, "No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life"(Josh. 1:5a). We cannot overcome difficulties coming to us, but we can strong enough to stand against difficulties and troubles with God. Money, knowledge and power which disappear quickly cannot protect us forever. However, God will never be away from us, protecting us forever. Therefore, we don't need to be afraid when we are with God.
2. Faith of strong and courageous belief
God told Joshua not to be scared when he stood in front of the great army of Canaanites soldiers armed with strong weapons. Fears come from Satan. It drives us to the frustrating and depressing moment to give us fear. However, we can be brave regardless of our situations when we have faithful eyes to see God. Walking with faith on the journey of our life, evil spirits frequently attack us to fall us down with using negative thoughts and fears. However, we should fix our eyes onto God and run toward the promised land of God bravely.
3. Faith of keeping and carrying out the word of God
God gave Joshua the navigation to reach the promised land. That was the word of God. According to Joshua chapter 1:7, it says, "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." The word of God is the root of our daily life. Once we are rooted deeply in the word of God, we can live a life to give glory to God, bearing abundant meaningful fruits. God will give us blessings when we listen to the message of God and follow the message that we have to obey.
Like Joshua, we should be brave by believing in the fact that God is with us. And we should live with the word of God all the times. Then, God will give us blessing that we may enjoy good health and that all may go well with us, even as our soul is getting along well