Joshua 23:6  “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left.” (NIV)

Joshua 23:14  “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.” (NIV)

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Joshua learned what he was commanded by living it out in obedience. He commanded what he learned through the successes of obedience. He warned the people regarding the consequences of disobedience. 

He lived what he believed. He behaved in alignment and attunement with God’s directions. He did so imperfectly. He made mistakes. He failed a time or two. He also learned how God’s grace, forgiveness, and second chances made it possible for him to begin again more intelligently. 

Tyler Staton said something in a Lectio 365 devotional that completely arrested my attention. The morning meditation was on Psalm 51, King David’s famous prayer for forgiveness. Staton said, 

“I am challenged by David’s confidence in God’s forgiveness, by his trust that his becoming rests on God’s grace, rather than on his own perfection. Surely this is the most universal lie: that spiritual maturity is needing God’s grace less and less. Surely this is the most relieving truth: that spiritual maturity is, in fact, trusting in God’s grace more and more.”

God keeps his promises. God’s grace is bigger, better, and more enduring than any sin you think he could never forgive. You may see yourself as having an unforgivable past. He sees you as having been eternally cleansed and restored.

It’s a good day to reflect on these truths. 

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I will live in the goodness of God’s amazing grace.

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Our Father, I pray King David’s prayer with him. Cleanse my heart and mind, my hands and feet, and all that I am. Wash me, renew me, keep me on the right path. I belong to you. Amen.