If you're like me, you don't just want to know the promises of God, you want to know how to walk in those promises. It's one thing to know that God has something reserved for you, and it's another thing to know how to take possession of it.
In Joshua 1, Joshua and the entire nation of Israel stood at the border of the Promised Land, where forty years before they had failed to go in and conquer. God's promise was still in effect: "I will give you every place where you set your feet." But all the obstacles to the promise remained in the land—powerful nations with armies, fortified cities, and giants. What's interesting is that when God spoke to Joshua, His focus was not on the outward obstacles, but on the two enemies they would face on the inside that could actually keep them from His promise.
God said to Joshua, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." He broke it down in the simplest terms for Joshua. "You need to be strong and courageous, because your biggest enemies are fear and discouragement, not armies and giants." God commanded Joshua, "When you feel discouragement and fear, don't let fear become part of your identity. Don't let discouragement define you."
Sometimes when we feel fear, we entertain it, and then fear causes us to be discouraged. If we hang around fear and discouragement long enough, it's interesting how we can wrap that fear in a circumstance and make it an excuse that keeps us from God's promise. Our coworker in the office becomes the reason why we can't get ahead. Our spouse is the reason for our lack of joy. If we just had more finances, we could do so much more. We create these scenarios, but at their root is fear, which causes discouragement, and discouragement causes us to stop rather than move forward to God's promise.
God's remedy to Joshua is the same remedy He gives to us. He said, "The only way to fight fear and discouragement, to be strong and courageous, is to take hold of My Word and obey it. Keep My words always on your lips and discouragement and fear must flee. Get My Word into your thinking and meditate on it until it drops down into the very depths of who you are." God says He will be with you wherever you go. And if God will bring Joshua to possess the Promised Land, He will bring you to possess His promises too!