Most of us dislike changes and transitions, don't we? Yesterday we read about the time when Moses died and the people were mourning. A month later, God said it was time to move on. Moses had been a great leader who presided over Israel at the end of the Wilderness era, but now Joshua was God’s chosen man to lead the people into the Promised Land, and God had something to say to him. Today, let's pick up where we left off:

“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. No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.” (Joshua 1:4-5)

Here we learn that God gave Israel ownership of the land ahead of them. But here was their problem: the land was theirs according to God by promise, but it was not yet theirs in experience. Yesterday we learned that God would give it to them step by step, everywhere they placed the soles of their feet. For Israel and for us, experiencing God working on our behalf is hugely different than just knowing His promises! God told Joshua, "No man will be able to stand before you." Even though God had given them the land, they were still going to have to take it. Here's the painful truth: If you and I want to take hold of God's promises for our lives, we’re going to have to fight for them.

Today you may feel that you’re not experiencing God's promises. On Monday, we will consider that predicament but for today, rest assured that God keeps His promises, every one of them…but you’re going to have to trust Him—and fight for those promises!