Get Up And Go! - Joshua

Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them.

Joshua 1:2

When the 2007 college football season opened, nobody gave tiny Appalachian State University any serious chance of challenging mighty Division I University of Michigan in the season opener for both teams.

So much for expectations!

In one of the biggest upsets in sports history, the little Division I-AA school from Boone, North Carolina, shocked the football world when it defeated the Wolverines—in Ann Arbor, no less—by a score of 34-32.

The Mountaineers spent several months preparing for their big game with Michigan, but all that preparation would have meant nothing had they failed to show up! Their fans were very happy that they did.

Sometimes, experiencing the good things in life is just a matter of getting up, going out, and showing up. That’s as true in the spiritual realm as it is in sports.

Throughout Scripture, God attaches promises to his commands. He says, “If you do this, I will do that.” Joshua, the man God chose to succeed Moses and lead Israel into the Promised Land, heard exactly that kind of divine promise and command.

Shortly after Moses’ death, God said to Joshua, “The time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them.” He followed that instruction with a promise: “Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you” (Joshua 1:3).

Joshua is one of the greatest examples in the Bible of how “showing up” at God’s command leads to victory. Joshua would have left us a very different example had he failed to do that one simple thing: Go!

God gives many conditional promises in the Bible; his promises are often contingent upon our taking steps of obedience. If you want to accomplish great things in your life and for his Kingdom, then take those first steps. Show up and go!