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“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” There are some big and wonderful words in this passage of scripture. It seems that each phrase is selected to reveal the sufficiency and wonder of God. All joy and all peace are found in Him, and every ounce of hope given to man is “His hope”. These, the greatest gifts in the world, come not as a result of our efforts to obtain them, but rather through the realization we cannot obtain them without Christ! Simple faith in the only one that could make them accessible (by belief in His death, burial and resurrection), provides freedom from a joy-less, peace-less and help-less life. By Jesus Christ, we are brought near to God and given the Holy Ghost, who indwells us, and endues us with abundant and heavenly comfort. The world provides cheap substitutes that are momentary and vain. Only Christ can provide the fulfillment spoken about in this passage, but it comes about because of the two main words: “in believing”. Do you believe (put your faith and trust) in the Lord Jesus Christ?

“Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.” It’s fascinating that the Lord has to inform Joshua about his own situation. The passage captured my attention, because I sometimes notice how unaware we can be about our age and health. Joshua was old; I wonder how much he understood or realized it? Whatever the situation, God chose to inform him of the facts. The first possibility is that Joshua was all too well aware of his infirmities, wondering just how he could accomplish the last portion of the task God had given him. The other possibility is that Joshua was fooling himself about his age, believing he had just enough left in him to go “one more round”. Either way, God injects a dose of reality into the situation that serves as a comfort. Sometimes hearing the truth actually helps, rather than hurts. What’s more is that it’s better hearing it from God than anyone else. Our job is to listen, then take action on what we hear.

“Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.” This is a reminder from God on the eve of doubt. He points to the reality of Jericho’s fear, assuring His chosen leader, and preparing him for some difficult instructions. Let’s not fool ourselves; Joshua was not a spiritual superman. The coming battle plan sounded as “unconventional” to him as it does to us. It was the assurance of God that made Joshua press forward. We ought to seek the same today. While there will be moments when we think twice about the Father’s command, we must not let human understanding rule. Sometimes every piece of conventional (worldly) wisdom tells us we are fools. That is why we listen for the voice of God in the study of His word. Military experts may scoff, so-called experts will ridicule, but every man is a liar when God has spoken. Our greatest privilege is the development of our relationship with the Savior, but that is also our greatest task. In serving Him we must put His desires and thoughts far above those of our sinful world.