I’ve spent the last several days in Joshua 1. Not because it is a particularly long chapter or because I couldn’t understand the words, but because I didn’t want to read it once, pull out “be strong and of good courage,” and decide I understood everything God was saying through it. That is probably one of the most familiar lines in Joshua, and it is certainly one of the easiest ones to carry around by itself. It sounds good. It is encouraging. It fits nicely on a sign. But when I slowed down and started following the Scripture surrounding Joshua’s story, I realized there was a whole lot more happening than God simply telling a nervous man to be brave.

Joshua wasn’t new to any of this. He had already spent years following Moses, serving God, fighting battles and watching what happened when the people trusted God—and what happened when they didn’t. He had already demonstrated faith and courage before God ever commissioned him to lead Israel across the Jordan. By the time we get to Joshua 1, Moses is dead, an enormous season in Israel’s history has ended, and Joshua is being told it is his turn to lead. God tells him repeatedly to be strong and courageous, but He doesn’t stop there. Joshua is told to stay faithful to the Law, not turn from it, keep it in his mouth, meditate on it day and night, and actually do what it says.

That made me want to go backward before going forward.

In Deuteronomy 31, Moses knows his life is ending. He prepares the people for what is coming, commissions Joshua in front of them, and then God Himself calls Joshua forward and confirms his commission. God appears at the tabernacle in the pillar of cloud. There is something powerful about that moment because this transition isn’t simply Moses deciding who should take his place. Moses’ leadership is ending, but God’s promise is not ending with Moses. Joshua has an assignment now, and the God who made the promise is still there.

Moses also makes sure the Law will remain with the people after he is gone. It is to be preserved, read and taught so that the people—and their children—will continue to hear it, learn it and obey it. Moses will die. Joshua will eventually die. Generations will come and go. God’s Word is not supposed to disappear with any of them.

That led me into Deuteronomy 6, and that is where this study took a turn I wasn’t expecting.

There are a lot of instructions packed into that chapter. God doesn’t exactly leave His people wondering how important His Word is supposed to be in their lives. They are to keep His statutes and commandments, observe them, teach them diligently to their children and talk about them throughout ordinary life. His words are to be so continually present that Moses describes them as being on their hands, before their eyes, and written on their doorposts and gates. Whether they are sitting at home, walking along the way, going to bed or getting up, God isn’t supposed to be confined to one little piece of their lives.

And then comes the command that really puts everything else in its proper place: love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your strength.

God first.

Not God somewhere on the list. Not God when things get scary enough that we need Him. Not God when we have exhausted our own ideas. And not God until something He gives us becomes more interesting than He is.

I kept reading past the verses I originally intended to study because the rest of the passage mattered too much to stop. Moses begins describing what is waiting for Israel in the land God promised their fathers. There will be great and beautiful cities they didn’t build, houses filled with good things they didn’t fill, wells they didn’t dig, and vineyards and olive trees they didn’t plant. They are going to eat and be full.

At first glance, that sounds like the happy ending. They have wandered, struggled, waited and depended upon God, and now they are finally going to receive what He promised them.

But God gives them a warning right in the middle of describing all those good things.

Do not forget the Lord.

That may have been the part of this entire study that stopped me the longest.

We talk a lot about needing God during hard seasons, and for good reason. When everything is falling apart, when we don’t know what comes next, when the money isn’t there, when we’re afraid, when we're waiting for an answer or when there simply isn't anything we can do to fix a situation ourselves, dependence on God can become painfully obvious. We pray because we need help. We seek because we need direction. We remember very quickly that we are not in control.

But Deuteronomy 6 made me think about the other side of that.

What happens when we finally have enough?

What happens when the prayer we have prayed for years is answered, the business succeeds, the family grows, the opportunity comes, the house gets built, the land becomes ours, the bank account is comfortable or life simply becomes easier than it used to be?

Apparently, God knew His people would need a warning for that season too.

The danger wasn't only that Israel might lose faith while wandering through the wilderness. They could forget God after they reached the place He had been leading them toward all along. They could become surrounded by His provision and eventually become more interested in what He had provided than in Him.

That is where one sentence settled into this study for me:

Don’t let the gift replace the God who gave it.

The specific promises in Deuteronomy belonged to Israel. I don't believe these verses mean that if I obey God, He is obligated to give me a beautiful house, successful business, plenty of money or everything else I might want. I think Scripture gets badly distorted when we pull promises out of their setting and turn them into guarantees God never made to us.

But I absolutely believe the warning travels.

Anything good in our lives can get out of its proper place. Money can. Work can. Success can. A dream can. Even something we spent years praying for can become something we hold so tightly that, somewhere along the way, the gift begins occupying a place that belongs to God.

That doesn't mean we aren't supposed to enjoy good things. I don't think gratitude requires pretending that blessings aren't blessings. Israel was going to eat and be full. God knew that. The warning wasn't against enjoying what He had provided. The warning was against becoming full and forgetting Him.

There is a difference.

I started this study in Joshua thinking primarily about courage. I still think courage is a huge part of the chapter. God tells Joshua repeatedly to be strong and of good courage, and Joshua is facing a responsibility that would have been intimidating for anybody. But after spending several days with the chapter and going backward into Deuteronomy, I don't think courage is the biggest thing I am carrying away from it.

I think it is faithfulness.

Know God's Word. Keep it close enough that it actually affects the way I live. Don't just read it—obey it. Teach it to the people coming behind me. Remember what God has already done. Be willing to move when it is time to move. Be strong enough to obey when obedience requires courage. Help other people along the way instead of deciding that receiving my own portion means my responsibility is finished.

And remember God when life is good.

Maybe especially then.

Because I don't only need God in the wilderness. I need Him when I cross the Jordan too. I need Him while I'm waiting for the answer, and I need Him after the answer comes. I need Him when there isn't enough, and I need Him when I am full.

The circumstances may change. God's place should not.

Scriptures from this study: Joshua 1; Deuteronomy 31; Deuteronomy 6:1–15.