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Seed Thoughts

Sept WOF 9//LYNETTE HAGIN

Do you want to be successful in life? You may be thinking, "Lynette, that is a dumb question. Of course we all want to be successful." However, I want to raise another question: are you following the Bible's principles for attaining success?

After the death of Moses, God spoke to Moses' assistant, Joshua, and gave him instructions for leading the children of Israel. God told Joshua, " 'Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. I promise you what I promised Moses: "Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you—from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites." No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. Be strong and courageous . . .' " (Joshua 1:2–6 NLT).

You may think, "What a promise! God said that He would be with Joshua just as He was with Moses!" However, it was not quite that simple. There were stipulations that Joshua had to meet in order for the promise to come to pass.

God gave Joshua the following instructions: " 'Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go' " (Joshua 1:7–9 NLT).

God told Joshua three times here to be strong and courageous. However, God gave Joshua two keys that would enable him to do that. Number one, he was to carry out explicitly the instructions that Moses had given him. He was not to deviate from them at all. Number two, he was to study the Book of the Law continually. It was to be in his thought life constantly, both day and night.

If we want to be successful in life, we must study the Word of God continually. If we are not familiar with God's instructions, it will be very difficult to carry them out. Many years ago when our children were young, we purchased a swing set that had to be assembled. My husband carefully laid out every part in a very organized fashion. It took him a long time to set out all the bolts, screws, and other parts of the swing set so that he could assemble it. However, after he had organized the parts, he placed the instruction manual to the side and never read it. I thought perhaps he had assembled a set like this before and didn't need the manual.

Many hours later, the swing set was erected. However, there were parts still on the ground that had not been used. Why? Because my husband had not read the instructions. He thought that he could assemble the swing set without reading them. He could not, so he had to disassemble a large part of the set and rebuild it. He would have spent a lot less time if he had read the instructions first.

That is the way it is with life. We are guilty of listening to our pastor preach or another minister teach the Word of God and then not reading the Bible for ourselves. Of course, listening to ministers teach and preach God's Word is good. However, it is important that we dig into the Word ourselves and read God's instructions. Let the Holy Spirit enlighten your understanding of the Scriptures. When you read something for yourself, you retain it better.

God wants to direct your path. He wants you to live a successful life. However, if you don't follow His manual, you may end up as my husband did—reassembling the swing set. Read the Word of God, follow His instructions explicitly, and meditate on them day and night. Then you will find yourself prospering in all your ways, spiritually and naturally.