Book of Joshua

⁶ Be strong and of good courage; for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. ⁷ Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you; turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. ⁸ This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may be careful 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. ⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; be not frightened, neither be dismayed; for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

Do not be afraid !Do not be afraid, but make an effort – putting your hands in your lap is not an option.
The Lord gave us the promise of His help, which we also have to work out.

When the Lord instructed Moses to lead his people out of slavery into the promised land, it was obvious that this would not be possible without effort and deprivation.
God gave Moses the order and the assurance that the people could count on his help. However, since the people were not so firm in their beliefs and began to doubt themselves and god during the hike, this ordeal took a long time, and the next generation was already born in the desert and soon there were not many left to take the trip they  had started. The Lord therefore instructed Moses to prepare a successor to continue the journey to the Promised Land. The Lord trusted Moses to choose the right man, gave him a free hand, and Moses chose Jacó, whom God had already provided. God commands the new generation to be told that the promise of God’s help is upheld. Like the ancestors, the new generation had to be convinced that God had his help ready. God orders man … even us today … that life should be chosen, we should fulfill what God has ordered. It is our decision – as it was the decision of those who started the exodus but began to hesitate and doubt on the way.

It is our decision – our free will enables us to choose God or evil.
God wants us to worship him, but still he gives us free will to decide whether we want to do it. He does not force us to do anything, but he expects us to choose life and not ruin.
Moses should not reach the promised land at the end of life either, he had too little firm conviction, not enough strength to do what God had asked him to do. Now God had to give the leadership to a person who had the necessary zeal, the necessary faith, the necessary trust and the strength to accomplish the work and to lead the people, now the next generation, to the promised land. This persuasiveness and courage was given to Josué, but Moses should prepare him for it.
When we are in the desert, we must not lack trust and belief that God will give us water and food. But often our belief is too weak to trust the Lord’s promises. For the arduous way out of the desert and then across the Jordan, the strength and will to convince was required. Josué was the right man for that.
When we are in the desert, when the path is difficult and the strength threatens to dry up, we must not remain inactive, we must – with the help of God – get ourselves up and keep going, fight against our own weakness and keep going.
God gave Josué the order to finally lead the people across the Jordan. He knew what he was going to do with the people, just as he has prepared everything for us that will happen in the future, it is up to us to achieve it with his help. The Lord wants to see our effort, our interest and our will. As Christians, we must always do everything we can to be worthy of His grace,  struggle to obtain that grace.

Everything is in order with God. He did not let the people cross the Jordan in any way, but had Josué to give precise instructions on how to do it: (Chapter 3) .. first the priests left, only then was everyone else allowed to leave, and at a certain distance, exactly established. Here the Lord points to authority, the hierarchy that has to rule in every society.
In Jericho the walls had to be overcome. We also have many walls in our lives that have to be overcome. How we do that is up to our free will. It is important to remember that responsibility must always be between God and our free will.
The Lord has prepared us for something in particular, but whether we get it depends on what we do. Whether we accept the challenge of choosing life or damnation, God has left us free, but He expects us to approach him and not give room to evil in our existence. The Lord asks us to fight for the life that he is, to walk with strength and trust the way that He has intended for us.
If we pray for the strength, we are not afraid to live the risk of following Christ. He won’t leave us alone in the desert if we trust him.