Guaranteed Path to Success

We like guarantees, don’t we? And a guaranteed path to succeed is the best one of all.

The good news about this path is that it was outlined thousands of years ago, and it has been proven many times.

If you’ve heard of Moses, you’ll remember that he was the most famous leader of the Israelites. He brought plagues an Egypt—the most powerful nation at the time—and then brought Pharoah and his entire army to its knees. He spoke directly to God and established law in Israel, as God told him.

The path to success I’m sharing today was given to his successor.

Most of us know his name, too. We might have learned it in Sunday school while singing “Joshua fought the battle of Jericho…and the walls came tumbling down.”

But there wasn’t much of a “battle” at Jericho. That’s because Joshua listened to the Lord and followed the plan for success outlined in their first conversation, recorded in Joshua chapter one.

The Lord told Joshua how to “prosper whithersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:7 KJV).

The Simple Three Step Plan

Check out the plan in Joshua 1:7-9.

The first step was to KNOW the law (v. 8). How was he supposed to do that? Well, God gave it to Moses who wrote it down. Joshua was told to meditate on the book of the law day and night (v. 8).

Step two: do what the law says (v. 8). Seems simple enough, right? God told Moses the law, Moses wrote it down, he read it to the people and commanded them to learn it and teach it to their children (Deuteronomy 6:6).

But as Adam and Eve proved in the Garden of Eden, the simplest laws are the hardest to follow.

Still God promised Joshua that if he didn’t let the book of the law depart and observed to do it, he would “have good success” (Joshua 1:8).

The third step had to do with emotions. Doing the right thing can be scary. Doing the right thing will make other people mad and they’ll try to convince us to go along with their plans instead.

Step three: Be strong and courageous, not afraid or dismayed (Joshua 1:9). There was a reason for this. When Joshua did as the law said he should, God was with him no matter where he went or who he faced off against.

Stop one: Jericho. This was a city with walls so thick you could have chariot races around the top of them.

Because Joshua followed God’s “crazy” battle plan, he defeated the strongest city of his enemies.

God might be asking you to do something crazy this year. Don’t be afraid or dismayed, follow where God leads.

Because that’s the guaranteed path to success. Just ask Joshua.