Limitless Resources For Impossible Situations

Not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you.
–Joshua 23:14

One man who was certainly a profile of courage was Joshua, the protégé of Moses. Joshua faced a daunting task, but he refused to panic. In Joshua 1:2, God said to him, “Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them.” Imagine how Joshua must have felt. “You want me to follow Moses? The guy who led us out of Egypt? The guy who parted the Red Sea? The guy who had that famous movie made about him? How am I going to pull that off?” I can identify with that. The church I pastor, First Baptist Dallas, is 152 years old. For 100 of those 152 years, the church only had two pastors: George W. Truett and W. A. Criswell, two mighty men of faith. When God called me to be the pastor at this great church, I looked at my predecessors and thought, “How am I supposed to follow these men?” But God gave me that assignment.

Maybe God is giving you a task that you think there is no way you can pull off on your own. It is possible not to panic as long as you take advantage of God’s resources. God gave Joshua two limitless resources–the same limitless resources He gives to you and me to face impossible situations. First of all, He gave Joshua His promises. Look at verse 5: “No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life.” God promised Joshua that the Israelites would be victorious over their enemies. Today, the greatest enemy that you and I face is within: our own sinful nature, the remnant of it, that is naturally disposed to oppose God. The good news is, the Bible has given us a promise that we can be victorious over sin in our life. Romans 6:7 says we have been “freed from sin.” Just like Joshua, we can take courage from the promise of victory. God also promised that the Israelites would divide the land as an inheritance. He said in Joshua 1:6, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.” Did you know God has an inheritance for you as well? Peter described it in 1 Peter 1:4 as “an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away.” It is the promise of eternal life, and there is nothing that can ever cause it to be lost. God keeps His promises. Joshua understood that. When he was about to die, he reminded his people, “Not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you.” (Joshua 23:14). He received courage from God’s promises.

There is a second limitless resource God gives us, and that is His presence. Joshua 1:9 says, “Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Think about that. God has promised no matter what situation you are facing, He is with you. I want you to notice something. In Joshua 1:6-9, God repeated the phrase “Be strong and courageous” three times. There is a reason for that. The word “strong” in Hebrew refers to an internal strength. Courage, meanwhile, is an outward manifestation of that inward strength. Only when we strengthen ourselves by relying on God’s promises and God’s presence will we act in a bold, courageous way.

Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Survival Tip #1: Don’t Panic” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2019.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org