The Presence of God
Joshua 1:5-7
"There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest."
Joshua faced the daunting challenge of succeeding the great leader Moses and taking the children of Israel into battle in the Promised Land. To strengthen him for the task, God promised to be present with Joshua in a very real way, just as He had been with Moses. In the New Testament era, each believer has that constant presence of God in the person of the Holy Spirit working in his or her life. And it is that presence that empowers us to overcome the enemy and win victories in the battles God places before us to fight.
There must be a constant sense of our need for that closeness with God every single day for us to have victory. Jesus told the disciples in the Upper Room, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me” (John 15:4). Will Thompson wrote:
Jesus is all the world to me,
My life, my joy, my all;
He is my strength from day to day,
Without Him I would fall.
When I am sad, to Him I go,
No other one can cheer me so;
When I am sad, He makes me glad,
He’s my friend.
Growth Principle:
It is our personal, intimate fellowship with God that gives us the strength to live victoriously.