Wednesday, September 16, 2026

Courage at the threshold after loss

Now after the death of Moses the servant of Yahweh, Yahweh spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ servant, saying, “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go across this Jordan, you and all these people, to the land which I am giving to them, even to the children of Israel. I have given you every place that the sole of your foot will tread on, as I told Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even to the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border. No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not fail you nor forsake you. “Be strong and courageous; for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you. Don’t 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, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it; for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success. Haven’t I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be dismayed, for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:1–9

At the Jordan’s edge, Joshua stands beside an absence he cannot repair: “Moses my servant is dead.” Scripture does not ask him to pretend that loss is small. The river remains, the people remain, and the command remains: arise and go across. Courage begins by naming the empty place, not by denying it. Courage at the riverbank begins by naming the empty place and receiving the God who remains.

The Lord’s logic is exact. Moses is dead; therefore Joshua must arise, not because Joshua has become sufficient, but because God has given the land and will not fail or forsake him. “Be strong and courageous” is repeated because fear will not vanish merely by receiving an assignment. Joshua must observe the law, keep it in his mouth, meditate on it day and night, and refuse to turn aside. The command sends him forward under a word he did not invent. I confess that loss often makes me question whether obedience is possible without the person who made the way familiar. Yet the verse answers that fear with presence, not self-confidence: Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go.

That promise reaches its full mercy in Jesus. The Son entered our death, bore sin at the cross, and rose bodily; therefore Christ’s people are not asked to cross the future alone or manufacture courage from within. The risen Lord’s presence is purchased, not presumed. At this bank of grief, courage is the grace to receive his company and his word for the obedience actually before us. The river has not become harmless, and the loss has not been reversed; but the crucified and risen Christ will not forsake his own.

Courage at the riverbank begins by naming the empty place and receiving the God who remains.
Prayer

Lord, at the riverbank, make us strong and courageous without making us numb to loss. Keep us from being afraid or dismayed; make your word steady in our mouths, and be with us wherever we go, through the cross and resurrection of Jesus. Amen.