How can we be strong and courageous? The LORD must be with us wherever we go—never leaving us nor forsaking us.

What is the secret to conquering the “Promised Land” of our life—the secret to remaining strong enough to become a blessing to other people? Where do we find the strength and courage to spread Light and overcome Darkness?

We must be careful to obey the Word of the LORD—not turning from it to the right or to the left. We must meditate on the Word of the LORD day and night.

The LORD told Joshua these eternal truths at a moment of crisis. Moses was dead. Now Joshua must lead God’s people—the Israelites—into the Promised Land.

Joshua must succeed where even his great mentor, Moses, had failed forty years before.

As Israel was poised to conquer the Promised Land forty years earlier, Moses appointed a committee of scouts to study the Promised Land and make recommendations. This was a mistake. If you want inaction, ask a committee to study something! They’ll always look for reasons not to do anything. And what we seek, we shall find.

The Committee magnified their enemies. They reported, “[T]he people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large” (Numbers 13:28).

The Committee belittled their own strengths. They reported, “We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them” (Numbers 13:33).

The Committee magnified the Darkness and belittled the Light. No wonder the Israelites became weak and cowardly!

The terrified Israelites grumbled that they’d be better off returning to slavery in Egypt than dying in the Promised Land. The people “said to each other, ‘We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.’” (Numbers 14:4). They even talked about stoning Moses and the other leaders who wanted to enter the Promised Land, including Joshua (Numbers 14:5-10).

Therefore, the LORD declared that none of that generation would ever enter the Promised Land. Similarly, in our generation, magnifying our enemies threatens to keep us from entering our Promised Land. Belittling our own strengths threatens to keep us from spreading Light and overcoming Darkness.

To enter your Promised Land, never give up! Even when others mock you, magnifying your enemies and belittling your own strengths. You may have to wait for the LORD forty years—like Joshua did. But you will enter your Promised Land, spreading Light and overcoming Darkness.

The LORD promised Joshua—as today he promises each of us and all others who unite to spread Light and overcome Darkness—“No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life” (Joshua 1:5).

The LORD did not base this prediction of success on the number of soldiers that Joshua led. Similarly, the LORD does not base his prediction of our success on our might nor on our power (Zechariah 4:6).

The LORD predicted success for Joshua for the same reasons he predicts success for us. The LORD promised that he would be with Joshua (and us) just as the LORD was with Moses (Joshua 1:5). The LORD assured Joshua (and us), “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5).

To overcome fear and discouragement, the LORD told Joshua again and again to be strong and courageous. The LORD exhorted Joshua—as today he exhorts each of us and all others who unite to spread Light and overcome Darkness:

“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land [of Light] I swore . . . to give them. Be strong and very courageous. . . . . Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, because the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:6-9)

The reason that Joshua could be strong and courageous sounds odd to a military mindset. The LORD did not tell Joshua to be strong and courageous because of his military strength. The LORD told Joshua to be strong and courageous because of his spiritual strength.

Where did Joshua’s spiritual strength come from? Where does our spiritual strength come from today? Faith that the LORD will never leave us nor forsake us. Faith that the LORD will be with us wherever we go.

How could Joshua be prosperous and successful? How can we be prosperous and successful today? Not by hoarding silver and gold. Not by living on bread alone. But by nourishing our lives “on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD” (Deuteronomy 8:3).

The LORD commanded Joshua:

“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. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; 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.” (Joshua 1:7-8).

The keys to remaining strong and courageous—to becoming prosperous and successful—remain the same today as when Joshua prepared to conquer the Promised Land more than 3,000 years ago.

The LORD must be with us wherever we go. The LORD must not leave us nor forsake us.

We must be careful to nourish our lives on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD—not turning to the right or to the left of the Word of the LORD that shines in the Darkness, overcoming it (John 1:1-5).

We must meditate day and night on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD—on the Word of the LORD that is the true Light of all Humanity (John 1:1-5,9).

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This blog is based on pages 110-114 and 123-125 of my book, The Promised Land.

Notes related to this blog can be found in my book, The Promised Land.