When God take hold of the reins in your life (Joshua 1:1-9) by Pastor Mack

Joshua 1 sets the scene. God takes hold of the reins in Joshua’s life and says, Moses my servant is dead, now rise and cross this Jordan. The command is clear and the promise is loaded. Every place the sole of the foot treads is already given. No man will be able to stand before Joshua because the Lord will be with him, will not fail him, will not forsake him. The repeated charge lands like a drumbeat. Be strong and courageous. Only be strong and very courageous. Do not turn from the law to the right or to the left. Keep the book in the mouth and in the mind, day and night, and the path will be prosperous.

The reins picture brings it home. God does not ride his people with a cruel bit. God lays on a hackamore, the gentle bridle that steers those who have learned to obey when he tugs right or left or draws back. Satan, by contrast, throws in the bit and jerks the tongue hard. He means to handle a soul until there is nothing left. If God does not intervene, the very thing a person swears off is what that person slides into. So the question stands in the middle of the road. Who has the reins in a life, God or Satan

God proves his promise to Joshua in battle. Giants stand on the land, but the Lord loves to fight, and when the Lord fights, the Lord wins. The land opens, vineyards appear that Israel did not plant, and houses rise that Israel did not build. God can give and nobody can outgive God. God can take too, and nobody can outrun that either.

Joshua 24 throws the line in the sand. Choose this day whom to serve. Put away the gods on the other side of the river. Do not step out of the safety zone to taste food offered to a foreign altar. Flesh will pull one way and Spirit will pull the other, but only one hand should hold the reins.

Job proves that God can hold a faithful man under pressure. Satan can roar, but he cannot rule the life God has fenced. Integrity can groan without cursing God, and in the end God restores and makes the accusers clean it up. Paul proves that God can flip the reins in a moment. When a man is too strong on his feet, God can put him on his back so he can finally see and say, Lord.

Jesus seals the picture. As great High Priest he cleans unclean lips and fills a mouth with God’s word. The Father’s voice over the water says it plain. This is my beloved Son, hear ye him. The resurrection shows whose hand had the reins the whole time.

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. Let God fit you with a hackamore God steers sons and daughters with a gentle hand, not a harsh bit. Small tugs become clear directions when a heart is already yielded. Resistance makes the mouth bleed, but trust turns pressure into guidance. The right bridle changes the whole ride. [06:45]
• 2. Strength and courage grow from presence The call to be strong and very courageous is not bravado, it is confidence in God’s withness. When God promises not to fail or forsake, fear loses its leverage. Courage gets its backbone from the word kept in the mouth and the mind. Presence fuels perseverance. [05:14]
• 3. Choose your master and your meals A life cannot serve two altars, and borrowed feasts carry borrowed gods. The safety zone is obedience, not curiosity about what is new across the river. Turning back from the second look is often the fiercest kind of faithfulness. The chooser becomes the chosen when the choice is the Lord. [16:40]
• 4. Suffering can reset the reins Job’s ash heap and Paul’s Damascus road both show how God meets a person where pride runs strong. The knockdown unmasks who really rules and who really saves. Integrity under pressure speaks louder than sunny-day praise. Sometimes being put on one’s back is how vision finally opens. [29:52]
• 5. Hear the Son, then walk clean Jesus, the great High Priest, does not just hush dirty talk, he purifies the mouth at the root. The Father’s voice says hear ye him, and resurrection proves that hearing him is life. Obedience to the Son is how a believer stays under the right hand. Clean words follow a cleaned heart. [34:44]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:55] - Joshua 1 read aloud
• [06:04] - When God takes the reins
• [06:19] - Bit or hackamore
• [07:46] - Standing firm against fear
• [08:56] - Be strong and very courageous
• [09:22] - God’s tough daughters too
• [14:05] - God fights and gives the land
• [16:15] - Choose whom you will serve
• [18:31] - Flesh, Spirit, and the safety zone
• [21:01] - Secret prayers and real healing
• [22:52] - Job tested and restored
• [28:27] - Saul on the Damascus road
• [31:20] - Somebody is always watching
• [33:11] - Jesus our great High Priest
• [34:44] - The Father’s voice says hear him
• [35:31] - Peace on the commute and praise
• [36:17] - Who holds your reins

Bible Reading
Joshua 1:1-9 (ESV)
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, 2 “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. 3 Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 4 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. 5 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. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 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. 8 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. 9 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.”

---

Observation Questions

1. What specific command does God repeat three times to Joshua in Joshua 1:1-9, and what promise does He attach to it?
2. In the sermon, the “hackamore” is contrasted with a harsh bridle. What does this metaphor reveal about how God guides His people compared to Satan? [06:45]
3. According to Joshua 24:14-20 (referenced in the sermon), what choice does Joshua demand the people make, and what warning does he give about serving other gods?

---

Interpretation Questions

1. Why do you think God emphasizes meditating on His Word “day and night” (Joshua 1:8) as a condition for success? How does this connect to the idea of courage in verses 6-9?
2. The sermon states, “Resistance makes the mouth bleed, but trust turns pressure into guidance.” [06:45] How does this relate to the consequences of resisting God’s gentle guidance versus yielding to it?
3. Joshua 24:19-20 warns that God “will not forgive” if the people serve foreign gods. Does this mean God’s forgiveness has limits, or is there a deeper principle about loyalty at play here?

---

Application Questions

1. The “hackamore” symbolizes yielding to God’s gentle guidance. What area of your life feels resistant to His direction right now, and what would it look like to surrender that area fully? [06:45]
2. God’s command to “be strong and courageous” is tied to His presence. When have you felt fear lose its power because you focused on God’s faithfulness? What practical step could you take this week to meditate on His promises? [05:14]
3. Joshua 24 challenges us to “choose whom you will serve.” Is there a “second look” or curiosity about something outside God’s boundaries that you need to turn away from? How can you create a “safety zone” of obedience in that area? [16:40]
4. The sermon says suffering can “reset the reins” by humbling pride. Have you experienced a situation where hardship clarified who was truly in control of your life? How did it change your perspective? [29:52]
5. Jesus, as High Priest, purifies our words and hearts. What habits or influences might be “dirtying” your speech or thoughts, and how can you intentionally fill your mind with His Word instead? [34:44]