After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying:
“Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel.”
Joshua 1:1-2
With the inspirational story in mind of Zig Ziglar’s rising above great adversity to become one of the world’s greatest motivators, we turn to the story of Joshua, told straight from his own point of view in the book bearing his name.
From the outset, we know that Joshua and the Israelites will face tremendous challenges all along their journey. They will need all the motivation they can get to make it across the raging Jordan and to conquer the Promised Land. Of course, they have the greatest motivator of all in their corner – the Lord – but the only way Joshua and Caleb and the rest will be able to reach those great spiritual heights the Lord sets in front of them is with great faith and a healthy pinch of that positive thinking of our modern-day hero, Mr. Ziglar.
I keep thinking of Ziglar's words as I read again the story of Joshua:
“You can’t do anything you want to do with positive thinking,” Mr. Ziglar reminded a large crowd in Dallas, Texas more than a decade ago, “but you do anything you want to do better with it!”
– A positive mindset for these times
As we first came to this place to write the truths we find in Joshua’s story, we had come to a place we have never come before. We began this writing in January of 2020, not knowing that the world and we were all about to change, not knowing that the positive spirit of a Joshua would be needed now more than ever! But we did not come only to the great pandemic of 2020 and to a thousand challenges it presented. We also came to new hopes and dreams, because just on the other side of that raging Jordan River – listen! – not far over the way, the Lord always lays out the hopes of half a century of traveling and struggles. The Lord always places hope within a stone's throw of the challenges we face. Wherever we are at this moment – with any numbers of worries staring us in the face – we have come to a place of opportunity. Always remember that the challenges of life and the opportunities always go hand in hand.
There’s something else, too, we want to remember. As we travel, regardless of how rough the road may be, we carry with us the greatest commodity that any man can carry – We carry the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We carry it with us for ourselves, and we carry it with us for everyone we meet along the trail. It is what saves us, and it is what sustains us and our loved ones and families. It is our companion that we share everywhere we go – by example, by our positive outlook, by our willingness to talk of it and offer it wherever we can. The stories of the Joshua’s of the world help inspire us to carry that story better, to proclaim with more conviction of the cross of Jesus Christ, and to walk beneath the shadow of that cross with a spirit the world may not quite understand.
Clearly, our journey is not merely one to attain what the world deems to be success. Even Mr. Ziglar always had a greater purpose in mind than motivating men and women to financial success. Our journey is one that we travel in our everyday attempt to do what God expects for us for success in His eyes.
As you go along, though, you need not be surprised when the Lord – in His own way – calls upon us to do something great or small – when He puts into our hands an opportunity or a responsibility that you know you need to do your part in fulfilling.
Those times will stop us in our tracks, and we’ll have to meditate on the challenge long and hard. And when we hear the challenge, we’ll probably say what Joshua must have thought: “What Lord? Do you really know what you’re asking?”
Well, the Lord knew, for sure. And really the only question is this:
Will you answer His call?
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