Taking Ground | Week 8

Day 1

“Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them…” - Joshua 1:2–6

God wastes no words.

Moses is dead. The wilderness season is over. The leadership transition is complete. The mourning has happened. Now it is time to move.

Israel stood at the edge of promise. Behind them was forty years of wandering. Ahead of them was everything God had sworn to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The land had been promised for generations. But promise and possession are not the same thing.

They had been delivered from Egypt, but they were not yet dwelling in inheritance.

That tension lives in every family.

You can be saved and still stuck.
You can be forgiven and still fearful.
You can attend church and still live defensively instead of offensively.

Israel had experienced miracles most of us will never see. Plagues falling on Egypt. A sea split in two. Bread from heaven. Water from rock. Yet miracles did not equal maturity. Deliverance did not automatically produce courage.

God tells Joshua something staggering: “I will give you every place where you set your foot.”

The promise is given. The stepping is required.

Notice the partnership. God gives. They walk. God promises. They possess.

This is the theology behind “Taking Ground.” The Lord has already spoken blessing, purpose, and calling over your life. Through Christ, every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places has been secured (Ephesians 1:3). But someone still has to cross the Jordan.

Someone still has to take the step.

The previous generation had died in the wilderness. Not because God failed, but because they refused to believe. They were free from Egypt, but Egypt was not free from them. Their thinking was small. Their fear was loud. Their obedience was partial.

But their children were different.

The new generation was tired of wandering. They had grown up hearing stories of milk and honey. They had heard about vineyards they did not plant and houses they did not build. They did not want another lap in the desert. They wanted stability. They wanted purpose. They wanted inheritance.

There comes a moment in every household when someone must say:

“Wandering stops here.”

It stops spiritually.
It stops relationally.
It stops financially.
It stops generationally.

We are not circling the same mountain anymore.

God does not tell Joshua to play defense. He does not say, “Hold your ground.” He says, “Cross over.” The mindset of God’s people has always been advancement.

Jesus did not commission His church to survive culture. He said, “Go and make disciples.” That is offensive language. Kingdom language is movement language.

We are not holding the fort for Jesus. We are moving forward with Him.

And here is the comfort: Joshua did not step alone. God says, “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

The presence of God is the difference between ambition and obedience.

You are not stepping into 2026 alone. You are not taking ground by personality strength or positive thinking. The same God who split seas, toppled Jericho, and sustained a nation promises His presence to those who move in faith.

And Joshua’s name matters here.

Yehoshua. “The Lord Saves.”

Joshua points forward to a greater Joshua, Jesus. Just as Joshua led Israel into the Promised Land, Jesus leads us into ultimate promise. Joshua distributed land. Jesus secures eternal inheritance. Joshua fought physical enemies. Jesus crushed sin, death, and Satan.

He has already crossed the ultimate Jordan for you.

The cross is proof that God is not withholding good from you. The resurrection is proof that no enemy ultimately stands.

So when God says, “Be strong and courageous,” it is not hype. It is invitation.

Courage is not required for comfort. It is required for conquest.

Some families are one courageous decision away from a different future.

One father deciding to lead spiritually instead of drifting.
One mother choosing prayer over panic.
One couple committing to fight for their marriage instead of tolerating distance.
One young adult refusing to inherit generational compromise.
One conversation of repentance.
One commitment to daily Scripture.
One refusal to settle.

The Jordan River always represents transition. It is the dividing line between wandering and dwelling. Between promise heard and promise held.

But crossing over is not automatic.

You can stand at the edge for years. You can analyze the current. You can talk about the giants. You can reminisce about the desert. Or you can step.

And when your foot touches the water, God moves.

The Lord had already determined the territory: from desert to Lebanon, from the Euphrates to the Mediterranean. It was expansive. Bigger than they imagined. Larger than they would fully possess in their lifetime.

That is how God works generationally.

You may not see the full inheritance in your lifetime. But your obedience positions your children to dwell in it.

Taking ground is rarely about you alone. It is about legacy.

One day your grandchildren will live in the fruit of decisions you are making right now.

Will they inherit wandering, or courage?

Will they inherit partial obedience, or wholehearted trust?

Will they say, “They survived,” or “They stepped”?

The wilderness is familiar. It requires no faith. But the land requires courage.

God has given permission.

The presence of God goes with you.
The promises of God stand before you.
The Spirit of God empowers you.

The question is not whether the land exists.
The question is whether you will cross over.

Wandering is over.
It is time to take ground.