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. – Joshua 1:5-6

Have you ever found yourself stuck between a rock and a hard place? The rock and the hard place are both hard things. The stuck feeling can feel crushing. I’m not here to focus so much on the crushing part, though, but rather, I want us to fixate our thoughts on some beautiful truth that will be a lifesaver for when we find ourselves stuck between two hard things.

The truth our hearts need to hear when we have a rock behind us and a hard place in front of us is this: God is with us there. This idea seems so simple, and I think we know this with our heads, but our hearts have yet to catch up with this knowledge. This is why we find ourselves stressing.

The intro into the book of Joshua serves as perfect imagery into this idea of God being with His people when they are in between a rock and a hard place. Let’s just dive head first into the first few verses of Joshua 1:

Joshua 1:1-7 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.

A couple of things to notice: Joshua was now Israel’s new leader. Moses had just died. Moses had been Joshua’s mentor for 40 years. Now, Joshua was about to lead a sea of people into unknown territory. He had a nation to lead behind him and a land that would be fought for in front of him. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Here’s the thing that makes it harder. Joshua knew what kind of people he was leading: stiff-neck people who were prone to complaining and who were easily led astray into idolatry. He had witnessed the numerous accounts where Moses had to intercede for these people due to their sinful waywardness. He also knew there were fights to be fought ahead. He was one of the spies who got to survey the land nearly 38 prior. Joshua knew there would be battles to be had and hard-headed people to deal with, all the while without Moses to advise him.

This is why we see in just 9 verses (if you keep reading two more verses) that Joshua was instructed to be “strong and courageous” three times by the Lord. Joshua was also reminded twice in those 9 verses that God would be with Him. What is so significant about this idea that God was with Joshua?

Something in verse 5 stood out to me: “Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.” Get ready for goosebumps. You see, the God that was with Moses was the God who judged all of Egypt with 10 plagues. This God also parted the Red Sea and created a highway in the middle of it, for  His people to walk through. This God would wipe out the Egyptian army with that same sea. This God would provide miracle bread in the wilderness, cause water to come from rocks, and would appear as a cloud by day as well as a fire by night to lead His people through the wilderness. This God gave them victory over numerous enemies. This God was the God that was with Moses, and now, He was with Joshua.

The God that was with Joshua would be the one to make the walls of Jericho fall. This is the God who would cause the sun to stand still while Joshua and His people were in battle. The God that was with Joshua would give them victory over their enemies, just as He promised, and they receive the land just as the Lord said they would.

Rest assured, the God that was with Moses and with Joshua is also with you. The all-powerful, all-knowing God is with you. He is still making ways through hard places, and He is still doing things that seem impossible.  God has never nor will ever change, and that is good news. Next time you find yourself stuck in a hard place, just remember who is with you and who goes before you. He can part your seas and tear down walls still. Take heart and be of good courage, sweet friend.