Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
January 9, 2023
Read Joshua 1:3-9
3 I am giving you every place where you set foot, exactly as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will stretch from the desert and the Lebanon as far as the great Euphrates River, including all Hittite land, up to the Mediterranean Sea on the west. 5 No one will be able to stand up against you during your lifetime. I will be with you in the same way I was with Moses. I won’t desert you or leave you. 6 Be brave and strong, because you are the one who will help this people take possession of the land, which I pledged to give to their ancestors. 7 “Be very brave and strong as you carefully obey all of the Instruction that Moses my servant commanded you. Don’t deviate even a bit from it, either to the right or left. Then you will have success wherever you go. 8 Never stop speaking about this Instruction scroll. Recite it day and night so you can carefully obey everything written in it. Then you will accomplish your objectives and you will succeed. 9 I’ve commanded you to be brave and strong, haven’t I? Don’t be alarmed or terrified, because the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
Good Morning! God is with us wherever we go!
As humans, we want to feel secure in our surroundings and we most of us like to know “the plan” for at least the day ahead. It is easy to become comfortable in setting routines where we know at least the next step.
Through Joshua, God is giving his people the tools necessary to feel secure and comfortable. There is a plan available for them to follow. Even though they are in a new land that will most certainly present new and unexpected challenges, God has prepared them and asks them to step boldly into this new beginning.
Of course we know, that like us, the Israelites have difficulty actually staying true to the plan and God’s commandments. Too many times we look for shortcuts which cause us to deviate from our plan. When you Read the Word and follow the word of God and communicate with our creator, you will be protected.
Gracious God, Thank You for loving us. Help us be strong and have faith. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: With small steps of faith, we can make a world of difference.
Trust and obey! Pastor Liz