We all experience seasons of change—times when the familiar is suddenly gone. Perhaps you’re walking thru loss, a new job, a financial challenge, or simply the daily pressure of a demanding schedule.
We see this exact scenario in the life of Joshua. He wasn’t just dealing with a minor inconvenience; he was facing a national crisis. The great leader Moses was dead, leaving a wake of grief and loss across the nation of Israel. Joshua was thrust into new, overwhelming leadership, tasked with guiding millions of people into a new, hostile homeland. Everything—old patterns, old structures, and the comforting presence of their leader—was gone.
During this volatile period, God gave Joshua a profound command: “Be strong and very courageous.” (Joshua 1:6, NKJV) But God didn’t leave him with just a command; He gave him the indispensable key to unlocking that strength. The one thing Joshua needed to succeed was to make the Word of God his constant companion: “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may be careful to observe to do according to all that is written in it.” (Joshua 1:8, NKJV)
The word “observe” here doesn’t mean passively watching; it means to guard—to be intentional, purposeful, and to value the truth of His Word above every circumstance. When we keep His words in our mouth—when we study it, talk it out, mutter and utter it, ponder and imagine it—we are engaging a God-given grace that allows us to prosper and find good success right in the middle of change, challenges, tests, and trials.
Our Father delights in being our strength when we feel weak and our Redeemer in the middle of our losses. As the Psalmist prayed, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14, NKJV).
This week, let’s choose to spend more time with His Word in our mouths and hearts than we spend complaining or stressing over the circumstances that make us feel vulnerable. Let the meditation of His truth be the source of your courage.
