Day 1: Joshua, Our Pattern

Let’s start with a key Scripture from 2 Peter 1:3-4, in order to understand how God’s provision is related to His promises:

“[God's] divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” (NIV)

Notice the two things that are stated in the perfect tense as things that have already been done. Verse 3 says: "[God's] divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness". God is not going to give us; He has already given us.

And then in verse 4, it says: "[God] has given us His very great and precious promises". So, we see that God has given us everything we are ever going to need, but He has given it in the form of His promises.

We can sum this up by saying: God's provision for His people is in His promises.

The second thing I want to point out is the fact that the promises of God are actually our inheritance.

To help you understand this, I want to point out a vivid comparison between the Old Testament and the New Testament. In the Old Testament, under a leader named Joshua, God led His people into a promised land. In the New Testament, under a leader named Jesus – which is the same name in the Hebrew form – God leads His people into a land of promises.

Let’s first consider the promise that the Lord gave to Joshua at the time He commissioned him to lead His people into their inheritance. It is found in Joshua 1:8 and it is, in a certain sense, the key to claiming all other promises. This is what the Lord said to Joshua:

“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 success.” (NASB)

I suppose there is no promise that gives more complete assurance of complete success than this promise given to Joshua: "Then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success."

Two things are combined here: prosperity and success. You might say, "Well, that was Joshua, and I'm not Joshua." That is true, but remember that God is no respecter of persons. In other words, He has no favourite. If you meet God's conditions laid down in your life, God will do for you exactly what He would do for Joshua or for any of His other great servants. It isn't the personality that impresses God, it is the obedience to His conditions. So that is God’s promise: "You will make your way prosperous; you will have success."