Before and After

When Joshua, the servant of Moses took over leading the children of Israel, the Lord spoke to him and told him the following. Joshua 1: 1 Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ servant, saying, ² “Moses My servant is dead; so now arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. ³ Every place on which the sole of your foot steps, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. ⁴ From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory. ⁵ No one will be able to oppose you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not desert you nor abandon you. ⁶ Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. ⁷ Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the Law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may achieve success wherever you go

It was time for the children of Israel to move in and take the promised land, the land of Canaan, and Joshua was the one God was using to get it done. Joshua was a servant to Moses before, and after the death of Moses, God called Him to lead the people to the next level. His vision for the future travels of the people was a vision given to him by God, with very specific instructions. These instructions continued on throughout generations as parents would recite the words in the presence of their children and instruct them to continue to follow those words as they grew into adulthood. The Word of God continued to be held in high esteem by those who were part of the people who were blessed to go into the promised land, so they were buried deep within the hearts of those people and shared from the love and obedience to God's Word.

God blessed them by giving them a huge victory that gave them the city of Jericho, and the people of Jericho had heard of how God was with them, and they were fearful of what might happen to them. When God is giving you your ground, then that ground is yours, and there is a purpose in Him giving it. God's power is absolute, and when He says "Be strong and courageous", He is also giving you that strength and the power to live this life of victory. The difference for us is that Jesus is in the midst of all our lives, and He is leading us and empowering us to be strong and courageous. This is new territory for each born-again believer, and our newfound faith is justified and should be leading us to more and more victories in sharing the gospel and winning the lost to Jesus. So why doesn't this happen. It is probably because there is little faith in our faith walk. Hebrews 11 speaks to the result of having a God-powered faith. Hebrews 11:³ By faith we understand that the world has been created by the word of God so that what is seen has not been made out of things that are visible. In other words, our faith is an unseen thing that is derived from what we read from the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. Faith has called many a believer to step out of the status quo and step into the "Jesus reality", which is faith that believes in what a person cannot see, yet they still believe. This faith gives us a glimpse into the true belief that there is life in heaven for all believers when they die or when Jesus returns.

As you can see, this faith is vital to all the other times we need and use our faith to live this life of victory. Jesus called this faith "the better faith" because of what it was able to do for you, the believer. This faith has results, and those results build that faith stronger and stronger, and before this faith, we live a life that doesn't step out and believe very much more than even a lost person. But after the realization of the power of this faith, it results in believers attempting and seeing God move in powerful ways. The before turns into the after quite powerfully and God uses that faith to continue to move in power through you, His follower. One example of before and after is found in the calling of Abraham in Hebrews 11: ⁸ By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed ^[h]by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he left, not knowing where he was going. ⁹ By faith he lived as a stranger in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; ¹⁰ for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. I

We have the capacity to have this same faith because the Holy Spirit is our strength, and He is leading us to this faith. Abraham believed in what he could not see, but God came through again and again. BELIEVE!

The Pilgrimage Continues,

David Warren