Spend time in prayer and silence with God asking him to meet you and speak to you.
Bible Reading
A long time afterward, when the LORD had given rest to Israel from all their surrounding enemies, and Joshua was old and well advanced in years, Joshua summoned all Israel, its elders and heads, its judges and officers, and said to them, “I am now old and well advanced in years. And you have seen all that the LORD your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the LORD your God who has fought for you. Behold, I have allotted to you as an inheritance for your tribes those nations that remain, along with all the nations that I have already cut off, from the Jordan to the Great Sea in the west. The LORD your God will push them back before you and drive them out of your sight. And you shall possess their land, just as the LORD your God promised you. Therefore, be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it neither to the right hand nor to the left, that you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them, but you shall cling to the LORD your God just as you have done to this day. For the LORD has driven out before you great and strong nations. And as for you, no man has been able to stand before you to this day. One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the LORD your God who fights for you, just as he promised you. Be very careful, therefore, to love the LORD your God.
– Joshua 23:1-11
Devotion
Joshua is beginning his farewell speech to the nation of Israel. Joshua had been through extreme highs and lows with Israel. He saw God part the Red Sea, give the nation the law at Mt. Sinai, and win incredible victories. He also experienced disobedience, humiliation and defeat. Joshua’s personal experience made it very clear to him that Israel’s experience was only good when they were humbly following God.
Now Joshua, at the end of his life, gathers the leaders of the nation to call them to obediently follow God. He begins by celebrating God’s work on their behalf, then calls them to love Him.
The Big Question
Read the last sentence of the Bible reading again. What would you want your main challenge to be?
Conclude in prayer and silence, reflecting on what you’ve learned.