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Unstoppable Reading Plan | Week 2 | Day 2
Prayer
Allow some silence for your soul to catch up with your body. As you come to spend time with Jesus, consider what you are fearful of and ask God to meet you in those fears today.
Bible Reading: Joshua 1:1-9
Read these verses three times slowly.
After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
“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. 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. 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.”
Reflection & Questions
This week we are considering pitfalls that arise in our lives to detail us from our mission. Yesterday, we considered our inadequacies – not feeling that we are able to accomplish the mission. Today, we are looking at fear.
Joshua was Moses’ successor. He had walked alongside Moses in leading the people of Israel. Joshua had seen God do incredible things. He had seen God move in winning battles, sending bread from the sky, providing water from a rock and much, much more.
Yet, as Joshua takes on the leadership of Israel after Moses’ death, what does God sense that Joshua needs to hear? “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Even with all he had seen and done, Joshua still needed to be encouraged and told “do not be afraid.” God knew if something was going to derail Joshua it was fear. Joshua was going to face things that were legitimately scary. His part in God’s mission was literally life-threatening for him and his people. However, God says, “Don’t be afraid.” How could Joshua not fear? In trying to allay his fears, did God try to tell Joshua that the danger isn’t that bad? Did God tell him that the danger was just a figure of his imagination? Nope. What God told him was far better: “The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” The source of Joshua’s courage and strength isn’t to be in himself. It isn’t in the denying of the danger of the circumstances. It’s in the reality that the Lord of Everything is with him, wherever he goes.
- As you think about the mission to reach your ONE, what do you fear?
- How can you find courage and strength in the fact that God is with you in the face of these fears?
Prayer
Talk to God in response to today’s reading.
Worship Song
You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:
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Questions?
Ed Applegate
