“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:7
If you want to find the success that accompanies God promises, you need to master a skill that is increasingly becoming more and more rare in today’s society: focus. If you are going to do all that God wants for you, while not getting distracted, while not listening to the outside noise, while not second guessing yourself, you must stay focused.
This is exactly what Joshua 1:7 is talking about when it says, “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.”
Now, the first part of the verse speaks to the strength and courage we need (we discussed this a couple of days ago), but it is what is said next that you need to understand, “Be CAREFUL TO OBEY all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left.”
Everyone loves the last part of the verse, “that you may be successful wherever you go.” But if you want to be successful wherever you go, you must stay focused. God wants you to focus on His instructions and on His words. Don’t turn to the left (and do your own thing). Don’t turn to the right (and act like you can do this by yourself).
Focus on Him and His voice. If you want to experience real success, that is the answer. You must stay focused on Him. That is what God was telling Joshua — if your story is going to be successful, you have to let me call the plays, and you have to do exactly what I tell you to do.
In order to do EXACTLY what God wants, and in order to not turn to the right or to the left, we must stay focused. There are so many things fighting for our attention. But if you want to find the success you truly desire, focus on God and where He wants to lead you!