Strengthened by the Word
Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:7-9)
God bookended His command to meditate on the Law day and night with the exhortation to “be strong and courageous.” Joshua’s calling to lead the people into the land God was giving them, would not be accomplished through sheer leadership, skill, or resolve. His calling would be fulfilled through obedience rooted in God’s Word.
Had Joshua attempted to run after God’s calling without being a man anchored in Scripture, he would have failed miserably. And while Scripture records moments where Joshua faltered, such as the deception of the Gibeonites (Joshua 9), it also records miraculous acts of God’s power through his obedience, including the sun standing still (Joshua 10).
Jesus spoke this same truth when He said, “Apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). John’s Gospel reminds us that Jesus is the Word made flesh (John 1:1, 14). So, to separate ourselves from the Word is to separate ourselves from the very source of life and power.
King David understood this well, writing in Psalm 1:1–3 that the one who delights in the law of the LORD and meditates on it day and night is like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding fruit in season. And we know that God’s Word is living and active (Hebrews 4:12–13), and it is profitable for teaching, correction, and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16–17).
The question is not whether God’s Word is powerful. The question is whether we will heed the admonition to meditate on it day and night. Strength and courage are sustained not by occasional exposure, but by continual abiding. So may we be people who hear the admonition and obey it!