Joshua 23

Hold fast and finish strong

But you will hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day. ~ Joshua 23:8

The greatest victories in your life are not just about how you start, but what matters most is how you choose to stay connected and finish what you have been called to? In today’s scripture reading, Joshua spoke to the people near the end of his life. He reminded them of everything God had done, every battle that has been won for them, every promise He had fulfilled. Then Joshua gave them a clear and loving instruction, hold fast to the Lord. Stay close, stay committed, and don’t drift from His plan and path.

As God’s people today, we live in a world full of distractions, pressures, and influences that can slowly pull our attention away from Him. Usually it’s not a sudden decision, but a gradual shift. That’s why this reminder is so important. Staying connected to God is what keeps us grounded, steady, and moving forward in His purpose.

Below are three truths from this chapter that we can carry into our lives today.

1. Remember what God has already done

Joshua reminded the people that it was God who fought for them and gave them victory. Their past was filled with evidence of His faithfulness.  In your life, it is important to remember where God has brought you from. When you recall His faithfulness, it strengthens your trust for what’s ahead.

Be intentional to remind yourself of past victories. For example, when you face a new challenge, take a moment to think about a time when God came through for you before. Let that memory build your confidence that He will do it again.

2. Be intentional about what you allow into your life

Joshua warned the people not to mix with influences that would pull them away from God’s plan and ways. He knew that what they allowed around them would eventually affect their hearts.  In today’s world, we are constantly surrounded by voices, opinions, and influences. What we give our attention to matters more than we sometimes realize.

Evaluate what you are allowing into your daily life. For example, if certain conversations, media, or environments leave you feeling drained or distant from God, begin to limit your exposure to those things. Choose instead to fill your time with what strengthens your faith and keeps you focused.

3. Staying close to God is a daily choice

Holding fast is not a one-time decision, it is something we choose again and again. It is built through consistency.

Create simple habits that keep you connected to Him. For example, take time each day to talk with God, read His Word, and listen for His direction. Even in busy seasons, small moments of connection can keep your heart steady and centered.

One of the biggest areas in my life where I’ve had to learn to hold fast to Him is when I feel worried about something I’m going through. In those moments, I don’t just remind myself of His faithfulness in my past, I also ask Him to bring to mind a scripture that connects with what I am facing and shows me His faithfulness in a similar situation.

I remember a specific time when I was consumed with concern about the influences surrounding my children, especially when they were spending time with their father after we separated. I found myself constantly talking to God about it, praying that their time there would be limited so that those influences would not pull them away from their relationship with Him.

Finally, I asked the Lord if there was anyone in scripture who had experienced something similar, having to trust Him with their children in an environment they could not control. Immediately, He brought Samuel to my heart. His mother had dedicated him to the Lord, and he went to live in the temple as a young boy. Even though that seemed like the safest place, the priest’s sons were living in great sin. Yet God protected Samuel there and spoke to him, even in the middle of everything that was going on around him.

He also reminded of Moses, who was raised in Pharaoh’s palace, surrounded by idol worship and a culture that did not honor God. Yet God not only preserved him, He also used that very environment to prepare him for his calling and gave him influence that would later be part of God’s plan.

As those truths came to my heart, peace filled me. I knew that because I had committed my children to God, He would be faithful to carry them through that season and lead them into the purpose He had for their lives. I didn’t have to control everything, I just had to trust Him.

There were moments when I had to make a conscious choice to pause, turn my attention back to Him, and hold onto what I knew was true. Even when the feelings of fear tried to come back, choosing to stay connected to Him made all the difference.

Today I want to encourage you to hold fast to the Lord in every season of your life. Don’t let distractions or pressures pull you away from the One who has been faithful to you. Remember what He has done, be intentional about what you allow into your life, and choose daily to stay connected to Him. As you do, you will remain steady, strong, and confident, knowing that the same God who has brought you this far will continue to lead you forward.

Today’s scripture reading: Joshua 23

1 Now it came to pass, a long time after the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua was old, advanced in age. 

2 And Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers, and said to them:

“I am old, advanced in age. 

3 You have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the Lord your God is He who has fought for you. 

4 See, I have divided to you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from the Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, as far as the Great Sea westward. 

5 And the Lord your God will expel them from before you and drive them out of your sight. So you shall possess their land, as the Lord your God promised you. 

6 Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, 

7 and lest you go among these nations, these who remain among you. You shall not make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause anyone to swear by them; you shall not serve them nor bow down to them, 

8 but you shall hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day.

9 For the Lord has driven out from before you great and strong nations; but as for you, no one has been able to stand against you to this day. 

10 One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, as He promised you. 

11 Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the Lord your God. 

12 Or else, if indeed you do go back, and cling to the remnant of these nations—these that remain among you—and make marriages with them, and go in to them and they to you, 

13 know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. But they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the Lord your God has given you.

14 “Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed. 

15 Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all the good things have come upon you which the Lord your God promised you, so the Lord will bring upon you all harmful things, until He has destroyed you from this good land which the Lord your God has given you. 

16 When you have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed down to them, then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land which He has given you.”

Journal:

• What has God done in my life that I need to remember today
• Are there any influences in my life that are pulling my attention away from God
• What is one daily habit I can strengthen to stay more connected to Him
• What does holding fast to God look like in my current season