Occupying The Future

Joshua 1:6
....Only be strong and of good courage.

Joshua 1:7
.....Only be strong and very courageous.

Joshua 1:9
.....Only be strong and of good courage.

Joshua 1:18
.....Only be strong and of good courage.

Moses had led Israel out of Egypt, and has been headed toward the Promised Land.
Forty years and an entire generation has passed.
Now, led by Joshua, the nation stands at the banks of the Jordan river. Directly ahead of them lays this land God has promised to give them.
For Forty years all they have heard is "The promise land....the promise land....we're going to the promise land." But now, here it is.

God has told them to go in and occupy it. Take it as their own. Drive out the pagan culture that has put its roots down deep into the soil of that area. There will be battles to be fought. But (And here is the kicker) God  has promised He would go with them and aid them in their effort to take the land.

It's no wonder There was fear among the people about crossing over.
This was not a well-oiled military machine like the Assyrians.
This was a nation of former slaves who fought when they needed to.
But this nation of ex-slaves had one thing going for them....
God had delivered them, and He would be faithful to the word He had given them that they would possess this land. So 4 times in the first Chapter of Joshua, the people were told to "Be strong and courageous."

So what does all this have to do with today?
Well, we've heard for years the word "Recovery".
"You can have a new life!"
"You can face the future and turn the page on your addiction!"
But when it comes to crossing over into this new life....well, that's another story.
We stand on the banks of our future staring across at the unknown.
We want to cut and run back to our old life.
It may be a painful past but it was ours, and we knew how to play the game, didn't we?

Now God has not promised us a "Promised Land"....
But He has said that we could have a "Promised life".
Just like those we read about in Joshua, we have to cross over into it...
Own it....
Occupy it....
Possess it....
Fight for it....
And all the while, if we do so, God has promised us that He would be there to strengthen us, guide us, and equip us for this new life.
Maybe we need to take heed of the verses from Joshua.
That the courage I need to lay hold of, comes when I recognize my own weakness. As Paul the apostle stated, "His Power is made perfect in my weakness."

Maybe it really is the day to cross over into the new life God has promised.
What do you say?

God on you.....
mbb