Be Strong and Courageous: Crossing Your Jordan

Devotional

Day 1: Standing at the Crossroads of What Was and Will Be

The Jordan River swirls ahead, but the wilderness stretches behind. Seasons shift, leaders pass, and assignments remain. God’s people inherit promises not because they feel ready, but because His presence outlasts every transition. Courage isn’t the absence of fear—it’s moving forward when the path feels haunted by the ghosts of unmet expectations. The same God who buried a generation in the wilderness now calls the next to cross into uncharted territory. [49:26]

“After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying, ‘My servant Moses is dead. Now proceed to cross the Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the Israelites. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, as I promised to Moses.’”
(Joshua 1:1–3, NRSV)

Reflection: What “crossroads” are you facing where the weight of what was collides with what could be? How might God’s promise to Joshua steady your heart in this season?

Day 2: Courage Supplied, Not Self-Made

Courage isn’t a pep talk or a clenched fist. It’s a gift. When Joshua stood at Jordan’s edge, God didn’t applaud his résumé—He anchored him to divine presence. Self-made courage crumbles under giants, but God-supplied courage thrives in the dark. Like a child gripping a parent’s hand in a shadowed hallway, our strength comes not from the light around us, but the One walking with us. [01:02:51]

“No one shall be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous.”
(Joshua 1:5–6, NRSV)

Reflection: Where are you relying on self-manufactured strength instead of leaning into God’s presence? What would it look like to grip His promise today?

Day 3: Carrying the Old Word into New Land

Victory isn’t won by better strategies but by deeper roots. God handed Joshua no sword for the battles ahead—He gave him Scripture. To walk new ground, you don’t need novel ideas; you need ancient truth. Meditating on God’s Word isn’t a devotional chore—it’s survival. Like water in the desert, it sustains when the terrain drains you. [01:07:37]

“This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall be successful.”
(Joshua 1:8, NRSV)

Reflection: What “old word” from Scripture have you neglected that might anchor you in your current battle? How could daily meditation reshape your courage?

Day 4: Opposition Doesn’t Cancel Promise

Giants don’t negate God’s “yes.” The land’s obstacles became the very stage for His faithfulness. Joshua’s call to courage wasn’t a guarantee of ease—it was an invitation to witness God outlast every enemy. Your Jordan may roar, but it cannot drown the One who split the sea. Fight not for a sweatless victory, but a sure one. [59:26]

“I hereby command you: Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
(Joshua 1:9, NRSV)

Reflection: What opposition have you mistaken as a sign of God’s absence? How might His presence redefine your view of the battle?

Day 5: The Source Remains When Seasons Shift

Moses died. Leaders change. Jordans rise. But the God who said “I will be with you” outlives every transition. Courage flourishes not in certainty of outcomes, but in the constancy of His presence. Whether you’re crossing rivers or burying dreams, the same voice that steadied Joshua whispers now: “As I was—I AM.” [01:16:21]

“And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:20, NRSV)

Reflection: Where do you need to trade fear of the unknown for awe at God’s unchanging nature? How does His “always” redefine your next step?

Sermon Summary

Joshua 1 opens with God’s people standing at a crossroads, an in-between season, between what has been and what will be. Moses is dead. The season has changed. The ground has shifted. But the assignment remains the same. God tells Joshua to cross the Jordan and lead the people into the land promised long before.

The book of Joshua shows how God moves God’s people forward. Israel had already stood at this same edge forty years earlier, when twelve spies went into the land and ten came back with “defeated dialogue.” The land was flowing with milk and honey, but giants were there too, fortified cities were there too, and fear spread through the people like a wave. Joshua and Caleb gave the minority report, “Yes, but God is able.” But the people followed cowardice, and an eleven-day journey became forty years of wandering.

Moses’ death makes the moment heavier. Moses had spoken truth to Pharaoh, stretched his staff over the Red Sea, struck the rock and water came out, carried the law down from Sinai with his face shining, and led the people through the wilderness. Moses is gone, but God does not shrink Joshua’s assignment. The same promise now rests on Joshua: “Every place the sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given to you.”

God does not command Joshua to be fearless. God commands Joshua to be strong and courageous. Fear is real because the Jordan is real, the giants are real, and the assignment feels larger than Joshua. But fear must not paralyze him. Courage is not self-manufactured strength squeezed out of a fearful heart. Courage is supplied by the God who says, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not fail you or forsake you.”

The darkness may not disappear, and God may not cut every light on. But God walks with His people in the dark hallway. The crossing will not be easy, but it will be sure because the source is sure. Joshua receives not merely a strategy or a sword, but Scripture. God roots courage in the word: meditate on it day and night, do not turn right or left, hide it in the heart. If God’s people are going into a new land, that old word must go with them.

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Key Takeaways

1. Courage is not fearlessness God’s command to Joshua assumes that something frightening stands ahead. The word does not shame fear as if real giants, real grief, and real transitions do not exist. Courage means fear loses its power to paralyze because God’s presence becomes stronger than the threat. [47:58]
2. The charge still stands Moses’ death changes the season, but God does not reduce the assignment. The promise remains larger than Joshua, and that is precisely why it must rest on God’s faithfulness instead of Joshua’s adequacy. A changed landscape does not cancel a divine calling. [57:41]
3. Strength is supplied, not manufactured God-supplied courage outlasts self-made courage because its source does not run out. Joshua does not have to dig inside a trembling heart and invent bravery. The strength comes from the One who says, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you.” [61:31]
4. Carry the old word God gives Joshua Scripture before He gives him battlefield details. The word becomes the rule of life that keeps courage tethered to God’s presence. New land requires old truth hidden deep in the heart, not just held loosely in the hand. [66:19]
5. Every Jordan needs God’s presence The Jordan names that place where the assignment feels too big and the self feels too small. God does not promise a sweatless victory, but He promises a sure crossing. The people of God stand because the Lord is with them always.

## [79:13]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[44:50] - Joshua 1 and God’s Command
[47:22] - Be Strong and Courageous
[48:29] - Joshua at the Crossroads
[49:26] - Israel’s Forty-Year Delay
[50:40] - Giants, Grasshoppers, and Defeated Dialogue
[52:38] - Moses Is Dead
[55:04] - Changed Season, Same Assignment
[56:34] - Courageous, Not Fearless
[57:41] - The Charge Still Stands
[60:49] - God-Supplied Courage
[66:19] - Rooted in the Word
[71:43] - Be Strong in Hard Times
[78:20] - Courage Found in God’s Presence
[81:25] - Prayer for Jordan Crossings

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Joshua 1:1-9 (ESV)
After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. 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 good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Psalm 1:1-3 (ESV)
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV)
For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

Observation Questions

In Joshua 1:9, God commands Joshua to “be strong and courageous” three times. What specific reasons does God give in this passage to support that command?
How does the sermon contrast “fearlessness” with “courage” in the context of facing challenges like crossing the Jordan? [47:58]
According to the sermon, why does God emphasize meditating on Scripture before giving Joshua battlefield strategies? [01:07:19]

Interpretation Questions

Why might God’s promise, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you” (Joshua 1:5), have been especially meaningful to Joshua given his history with Moses and Israel’s past failures?
The sermon states, “Courage is not self-manufactured strength squeezed out of a fearful heart.” How does Psalm 1:1-3 reinforce the idea that courage is rooted in something outside ourselves?
In 2 Timothy 1:7, Paul writes that God gives believers a spirit of “power, love, and self-control” rather than fear. How does this connect to Joshua’s need to lead Israel despite the giants and fortified cities?

Application Questions

What is a “Jordan” you are facing right now—a situation where the assignment feels too big and you feel too small? How might God’s promise, “I will not fail you or forsake you,” reshape your approach to it? [01:19:13]
The sermon says, “If you’re going to walk in a new land, carry that old word.” What practical step could you take this week to “hide Scripture in your heart” (e.g., memorizing a verse, setting a meditation reminder)? [01:08:37]
Fear often paralyzes us by magnifying the “giants” in our lives. What is one fear you need to confront with courage this week, and how can you actively rely on God’s presence instead of your own strength? [01:01:31]
The sermon compares God’s presence to walking with someone in a dark hallway. When have you experienced God’s presence in a “dark” season? How can you encourage others with that story? [01:05:00]
Joshua’s leadership required trusting God’s faithfulness over his own adequacy. Where do you need to stop “digging for self-made courage” and start trusting God’s supply instead?

Sermon Clips

74s

“``Don't miss what I just said. He does not tell them to be fearless. In other words, church, when you gotta cross your own Jordan, life will throw some things at you that if you aren't careful, it will seem intimidating. It will seem overwhelming. Listen. It's one thing to have fear, but what God is saying here is don't let that fear paralyze He's saying to the leader, be strong and be courageous. Allow me to say here as an aside, look, this is why it matters who you follow. Be careful following cowards. Because when you follow cowards, you become controlled by what they fear. He didn't tell them to be fearless, but he says be strong and courageous. And here's my central claim today. What I want you to see, listen, we're not commanded to be fearless, but we're commanded to be courageous. Why? Because there is a God. Hallelujah to the blood. There is a God who goes with us.”

77s

“Listen. Where does courage come from? Not from him digging within himself. Listen. Because courage is not something that you can always manufacture. It's not something that you can manufacture. Look. It's tough to squeeze courage out of a fearful heart. But in the case of Joshua, he does not have to. Why? It's right here in verse number five. God says, as I was with Moses, will be Let me say it again, church. As I was with Moses, I know the ground has shifted. I know the season has changed. I know the assignment feels like it's larger than you, and God, you feel maybe requiring more than what you have to give. But here's what the Lord is saying, as I was with Moses, I will be with you. God says, I will not fail you. Hallelujah to the blood. God says, I will not forsake you. This Courage Church is God supplied.”

76s

“But we we we just all have our own Jordan that we have to cross. We all have our own Jordan that we have to cross. Sometime we feel like the assignment is larger than we are. You ever been called to something big but felt so small? But god says to us, be strong, be courageous. As I was with Moses, so I will be As you go back to whatever it is you gotta go back to. I'm talking about Jordans that we all have to cross. I just want you to hear the spirit of God saying, be strong, be courageous. No one will be able to stand against you. It's not that weapons won't form, but they won't prosper because the lord says, as I was with Moses, I'll be with you.”

55s

“That's the command church. And what I would submit to us is that you don't tell a person to be strong if there's nothing to fear. Joshua has good reason to be afraid because in a real sense, this is not a new assignment. He's being called back to that same Jordan, that they gotta cross back to that same land of Canaan where there are giants in the land back to some of the same struggles that buried a generation before them. Moreover, Moses is now dead. Joshua does not have Moses to hide behind, but the mantle of leadership has fallen onto him. And God said to him, in no uncertain terms, look, he doesn't tell them to be fearless, but he tells them to be strong and to be courageous.”

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Be Strong and Courageous: Crossing Your Jordan

Devotional

Day 1: Standing at the Crossroads of What Was and Will Be

Day 2: Courage Supplied, Not Self-Made

Day 3: Carrying the Old Word into New Land

Day 4: Opposition Doesn’t Cancel Promise

Day 5: The Source Remains When Seasons Shift

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Be Strong and Courageous: Crossing Your Jordan

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