Moving forward sounds exciting until it requires leaving something familiar behind.

Israel had spent years looking toward the Promised Land. God had promised it to them. They knew where they were supposed to go. But when the moment finally came to move, Moses was gone, Joshua was responsible for leading the people, the Jordan River stood in their path, and Jericho was waiting on the other side.

The promise was real, but so were the obstacles.

In The Challenge of Moving Forward, Bishop D. G. Hargrove takes us into the opening chapters of Joshua and reminds us that walking into what God has promised does not mean there will be no resistance along the way. There can be uncertainty, obstacles, battles, and moments when we have to move before we can see exactly how God will make a way.

Joshua 1–4 gives us a progression that still speaks to believers today: have the courage to move forward, obey God when you reach the obstacle, and remember what He has already done.

Sometimes the First Obstacle Is Moving Forward

Joshua 1 opens at a moment of enormous transition.

Moses is dead.

For an entire generation, Moses had been the leader. He confronted Pharaoh. He stretched his rod over the Red Sea. He received the Law. He led Israel through the wilderness.

Now God speaks to Joshua.

It is time to move.

Joshua was not being asked merely to replace Moses. He was being asked to lead Israel into a season they had never experienced before.

Three times in Joshua 1, God emphasizes the same command: be strong and courageous.

Why?

Because moving forward requires courage.

There are seasons when God closes one chapter and calls us into another. We may know God is leading, but that does not mean the transition feels comfortable. A new season can carry new responsibilities, unfamiliar territory, and challenges we have never faced before.

Sometimes we spend so much time grieving what has ended that we struggle to embrace what God is beginning.

But Israel could not remain where they were.

The promise was ahead of them.

You Cannot Possess Tomorrow While Refusing to Leave Yesterday

There is a difference between honoring the past and living in it.

Israel should never forget Moses. His leadership, faith, and relationship with God had shaped the nation. But Moses’ death did not mean God’s promise had died.

God’s purpose was bigger than one season.

That is an important lesson whenever life changes.

People change. Leadership changes. Careers change. Families enter new seasons. Children grow. Opportunities come and go. Things we assumed would remain forever sometimes end.

And in those moments, we have a choice.

We can become so attached to what was that we refuse to discover what God wants to do next.

Or we can carry the lessons of yesterday while walking faithfully into tomorrow.

Moving forward does not require forgetting where you came from. It requires trusting that the God who was faithful there will still be faithful here.

Be Strong and Courageous

God did not tell Joshua that courage meant he would never feel uncertainty.

He told Joshua what to do in the face of it.

“Be strong and of a good courage.”

Biblical courage is not pretending obstacles do not exist. It is choosing obedience because we trust God more than we fear what stands ahead.

Joshua had legitimate reasons to feel the weight of his assignment. He was following one of the greatest leaders in Israel’s history. He was responsible for an entire nation. There were enemies ahead. There were fortified cities. There was territory still to possess.

Yet God’s repeated command was not, Joshua, become more talented.

It was not, Joshua, figure everything out before you move.

It was: Be strong. Be courageous. Obey My Word. Keep moving.

Courage Comes From Knowing Who Goes With You

Joshua’s confidence did not have to come from Joshua.

God promised His presence.

That changes the equation.

When our confidence rests entirely in our ability, every challenge exposes how limited we are. But when our confidence rests in the God who goes with us, we can walk into situations larger than ourselves.

The question is no longer simply, Am I capable of doing this?

The better question is, Has God called me to take this step?

If He has, then we can move forward knowing we do not move alone.

Then You Reach the Jordan

Joshua 1 required courage.

Joshua 3 required action.

Israel finally reached the Jordan River, but there was a problem: the river was overflowing its banks.

The obstacle was directly in the path of the promise.

God had told them where to go, yet something they could not overcome on their own stood between where they were and where they needed to be.

That can be confusing.

We sometimes assume that if God is leading us, the road should automatically become easier. But Scripture repeatedly shows people encountering obstacles while walking directly in the will of God.

An obstacle does not necessarily mean you missed God.

Sometimes the obstacle is part of the journey.

Israel was supposed to cross the Jordan.

They simply could not do it without God’s help.

Sometimes the Water Doesn’t Move Until You Step

The priests carried the Ark of the Covenant toward the Jordan.

Then they stepped into the water.

Joshua 3 tells us that when their feet reached the river, God stopped the waters upstream. The Jordan rose in a heap, and Israel crossed on dry ground.

Notice the order.

They did not stand safely on the bank, watch God remove the water, and then decide whether they trusted Him enough to cross.

They stepped.

Then God made the way.

There are times when we want God to remove every uncertainty before we obey. We want the river to part first. We want confirmation of the outcome. We want guarantees that everything will work exactly as we hope.

But faith sometimes requires getting our feet wet.

The obstacle may be directly in your path, but obedience puts you in position to see God make a way.

You may not know what will happen five steps from now.

Take the step God has put in front of you.

You Cannot Get to Jericho Without Crossing Your Jordan

Israel’s destination was not the Jordan.

Jericho was still ahead.

But they could not face Jericho until they crossed the river.

Sometimes we want God to give us the victory on the other side while avoiding the step of obedience immediately in front of us.

We want the destination without the crossing.

We want the testimony without the test of trust.

We want to possess the promise without confronting the thing standing between here and there.

But there are some places in God we simply cannot reach while remaining where we are.

You cannot get to Jericho without first crossing your Jordan.

Your Jordan may not look like anyone else’s.

It may be a conversation you have been avoiding.

It may be forgiveness.

It may be stepping into a responsibility you feel unqualified to carry.

It may be letting go of something familiar.

It may be responding to God’s call.

It may simply be taking the next faithful step when you cannot see how the rest of the journey will unfold.

Whatever it is, moving forward requires movement.

Don’t Forget What God Has Already Done

After Israel crossed the Jordan, God gave them an interesting instruction.

Joshua selected twelve men, one from each tribe, and they took twelve stones from the Jordan. Those stones became a memorial.

Joshua 4 explains that a day would come when their children would ask, “What mean ye by these stones?”

That question would create an opportunity to tell the story.

This is where God brought us through.

The Jordan was no longer merely an obstacle behind them.

It had become a testimony.

Your Children Need to Hear Your God Stories

There is something powerful about telling the next generation what God has done.

Our children need more than biblical stories about what God did thousands of years ago. They need to hear how the same God has been faithful in their own family.

Tell them about the prayers He answered.

Tell them about the doors He opened.

Tell them about the season when you did not know how things would work out—but God provided.

Tell them about the Jordan you thought you could never cross.

Tell them how God kept you when you were hurting.

Tell them about the miracle.

Tell them about the mercy.

Tell them about the moment God met you.

Every victory should become a testimony for the next generation.

One of the greatest gifts we can give our children is a memory of God’s faithfulness.

Yesterday’s Jordan Can Give You Courage for Tomorrow’s Jericho

There is another reason Israel needed those stones.

Jericho was coming.

Crossing the Jordan was a victory, but it was not the end of the journey. There would be another obstacle, another challenge, and another moment when Israel would have to trust God.

The memorial behind them could strengthen their faith for the battle ahead.

God brought us through the river. He can bring us through this too.

This is why remembering matters.

When you face a new challenge, the enemy wants you to act as though God has never done anything for you before.

But you have stones.

You have memories.

You have prayers that were answered.

You have moments when God provided.

You have situations you thought would destroy you, yet here you are.

You have evidence of His faithfulness.

When you do not know what God will do next, remember what He has already done.

Moving Forward Does Not Mean There Won’t Be Battles

The journey from the Jordan into the Promised Land did not become effortless after the river parted.

Jericho still stood ahead.

God’s promise did not eliminate opposition.

This is an important correction to the way we sometimes think about faith. We can assume that resistance means we are outside the will of God. But Israel encountered both the Jordan and Jericho while moving toward exactly what God had promised.

Some battles are not evidence that you are going the wrong direction.

They are simply part of possessing what God has called you to possess.

The presence of an obstacle does not cancel the promise.

The presence of a battle does not mean God has abandoned you.

Keep walking.

What Is Keeping You From Moving Forward?

Maybe your greatest obstacle right now is not a Jordan River or a fortified city.

Maybe it is fear.

Fear of failure.

Fear of change.

Fear of what people will think.

Fear of losing something familiar.

Fear that you will not be enough for the next season.

Fear that what worked before will not work now.

Fear can make staying still feel safer than obedience.

But there comes a moment when faith has to move.

You do not need every detail of tomorrow to obey God today.

Joshua did not receive the entire journey at once. Israel moved from instruction to obedience, from the Jordan to the memorial, and eventually from the memorial toward Jericho.

God gave them enough for the next step.

He will do the same for us.

Moving Forward With Faith in Garland and North Texas

At North Cities, we believe God is still calling people forward.

For families throughout Garland, Texas, Murphy, Plano, Richardson, Rowlett, Wylie, and communities across Dallas County, Collin County, and Rockwall County, life is filled with transitions. Families change. Careers shift. Children grow. Opportunities arise. Difficult seasons end, and new ones begin.

Following Jesus does not mean we will always know exactly what the next season holds.

It means we know Who goes with us.

If you are searching for a church in Garland, TX, a Spirit-filled church, or an Apostolic church in the North Texas area, North Cities is a place where you can grow in God’s Word, experience His presence, and walk alongside people who are learning to follow Jesus one faithful step at a time.

We honor what God has done.

But we are also believing Him for what comes next.

The Challenge of Moving Forward

Joshua stood between two realities.

Behind him was everything he had known.

Ahead of him was everything God had promised.

Between the two were uncertainty, a river, battles, and the responsibility to move.

Maybe that is where you are.

You know God has been faithful in the past, but you cannot yet see how everything ahead will unfold.

Be strong.

Be courageous.

Take the next step.

When you reach the Jordan, obey.

When God brings you through, remember.

Build some memorials in your life. Tell your children what God has done. Carry yesterday’s testimony into tomorrow’s battle.

And when another obstacle appears, remind yourself:

The God who brought me through there is still with me here.

Sometimes the first obstacle is simply the fear of moving forward.

But the promise is ahead.

So keep moving.