GO GET IT

“Life is defined by what you’re willing to fight for—and what you have the courage to go after.” — Johnny Mengarelli

I am 54 years old, and when I look back over my life, I am amazed at the life God has given me. I have a beautiful wife of almost 35 years. I have four handsome and beautiful adult children and three handsome and beautiful grandchildren. I have had the privilege of pastoring two churches filled with some of the greatest people in the world. I have traveled all over the world and met some amazing Christians and incredible people along the way. My life has been full, and I know with absolute certainty that I could never have done these things without the Lord.

Many people have asked me how I have been able to do so much, although I have never really thought about my life that way. My answer is simple: He called and said, “Go,” and I went. He said, “Go get it,” and I ran to go get it. When God opened doors, I walked through them. When He closed doors that He no longer wanted me walking through, I learned to stop trying to force them open. In the end, it really is that simple: follow Him and obey.

Life Is Meant to Be Lived

You will never get anything in life sitting on the couch eating cheese doodles. Life is meant to be lived, and living requires movement. It requires getting up, stepping out, believing, taking risks, and being willing to move when God tells you to move. There are times to wait, pray, and prepare, but there are also times when God places something in front of you and says, “Go get it.”

Moses had an incredible adventure with God. Think about everything this man experienced. He stood before Pharaoh, watched God bring judgment upon Egypt, saw the Red Sea open, and led God’s people through the wilderness. What an incredible life! Yet Moses was meant to go further than he ultimately went. Because of disobedience and failing to follow God’s instructions, Moses limited part of the adventure God had for him.

When Moses’ season ended, however, God’s plan did not end. God’s purpose moved forward through Moses’ apprentice, Joshua. Joshua was standing at the beginning of a completely new season. If he chose to believe God and obey Him, Joshua would help usher in a new era for the people of God and his own family. They were going to enter the Promised Land with the covering and presence of God with them. But Joshua had to make a choice. He had to be willing to go get it.

God’s Call to Joshua

Joshua 1:1 — After the death of the LORD’S servant Moses, the LORD said to Moses’ assistant Joshua, son of Nun,

Joshua 1:2 — “My servant Moses is dead. Now you and all these people must cross the Jordan River into the land that I am going to give the people of Israel.

Joshua 1:3 — I will give you every place on which you set foot, as I promised Moses.

Joshua 1:4 — Your borders will be the desert on the south, nearby Lebanon to the Euphrates River (the country of the Hittites) on the north, and the Mediterranean Sea on the west.

Joshua 1:5 — No one will be able to oppose you successfully as long as you live. I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will never neglect you or abandon you.

Joshua 1:6 — Be strong and courageous, because you will help these people take possession of the land I swore to give their ancestors.

Joshua 1:7 — “Only be strong and very courageous, faithfully doing everything in the teachings that my servant Moses commanded you. Don’t turn away from them. Then you will succeed wherever you go.

Joshua 1:8 — Never stop reciting these teachings. You must think about them night and day so that you will faithfully do everything written in them. Only then will you prosper and succeed.

Joshua 1:9 — “I have commanded you, ‘Be strong and courageous! Don’t tremble or be terrified, because the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.’”

Recognize Your Season and Know When It Is Time to Go Get It

The first lesson we can learn from Joshua is that we must recognize the season we are in. God told Joshua, “My servant Moses is dead.” That season was over. Joshua could not spend the rest of his life waiting for Moses to return or trying to recreate yesterday. There was a Jordan River in front of him, and on the other side was the promise of God. It was time to cross the river.

Sometimes we miss what God wants to do today because we are still holding on to yesterday. There is a time to wait, a time to pray, and a time to prepare. But there is also a time when God says, “Get up, cross the river, and go get it.” We have to recognize when the season has changed and have enough faith to move forward with God.

Listen to God’s Word and Let His Truth Build Your Courage

God gave Joshua something greater than positive thinking or motivational words. God gave Joshua His Word. He told him, “I will give you every place on which you set foot, as I promised Moses.” Joshua’s confidence was not supposed to come from his own strength or ability. His confidence came from God’s promise.

Sometimes we mistakenly think courage means believing in ourselves. Biblical courage goes much deeper than that. Courage is believing God enough to move when He tells you to move. Joshua could step forward because God had already spoken. When God has spoken, His truth gives us the courage to take the next step even when we cannot see everything that lies ahead.

Believe the Words of the Lord

God told Joshua that no one would be able to oppose him successfully. Notice what God did not say. He did not say there would never be opposition. Joshua would face enemies, battles, walls, resistance, and difficult days. God’s promise was not the absence of opposition; His promise was that the opposition would not ultimately succeed in stopping what God had called His people to accomplish.

That is an important truth to remember. Opposition does not automatically mean you are outside the will of God. Sometimes opposition comes precisely because you are moving toward what God has called you to do. Joshua had to believe God before he ever saw the walls of Jericho fall. He had to believe before he crossed the Jordan River and before he saw the victory. Sometimes you have to believe while you are still standing on this side of the river.

Be Strong and Courageous

Three times in this passage God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous, and I believe each one speaks powerfully to Joshua’s calling. The first “Be strong and courageous” was connected to Joshua becoming the leader God had called him to be and fulfilling a prophetic purpose. Joshua was stepping into something much bigger than himself. God was calling him to lead an entire generation into something they had never experienced before.

The second “Be strong and very courageous” was connected to standing upon God’s truth and principles. Joshua would have to remain faithful even when people around him faltered. Sometimes courage is not fighting an enemy on a battlefield. Sometimes courage is simply standing on God’s truth when everyone around you is walking away from it. Joshua’s success would depend upon staying faithful to what God had commanded rather than changing direction because of the opinions of people around him.

The third “Be strong and courageous” was God’s encouragement to Joshua to overcome fear. God told him, “Don’t tremble or be terrified, because the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua did not have to overcome fear because Joshua himself was powerful. He could overcome fear because God was with him. That changes everything. When God sends you somewhere, you never go there alone.

Don’t Let Fear or Laziness Steal Your Purpose

Joshua had to do something incredibly simple and yet incredibly difficult: he had to believe God and go. He had to believe, obey, and move. When you live a GO GET life with God, amazing things can happen. Never stop believing. Do not allow fear to stop you. Do not allow laziness to stop you. Do not allow comfort to stop you. Do not allow yesterday to stop you, and do not allow opposition to convince you that God has abandoned you.

There are opportunities in life that will not come looking for you while you sit comfortably on the couch. There are doors God will open, but you still have to walk through them. There are rivers God will tell you to cross, but you still have to put your feet in the water. Faith is not simply believing something in your heart. Faith eventually has to produce movement. When God says go, there comes a point when you have to GO GET IT.

Go Get Your Go Get

There is one final lesson that I believe is extremely important: Don’t try to go get somebody else’s GO GET. God gave Joshua Joshua’s assignment, and God gave Moses Moses’ assignment. God has also given you your assignment. Too many people spend their lives comparing themselves with other people, chasing someone else’s calling, or trying to live somebody else’s adventure.

You will always struggle when you try to fulfill an assignment God gave somebody else. Your life does not have to look like someone else’s life to have purpose. Their success does not define your success, and their calling does not determine your calling. You need to discover what God has placed in front of you and pursue that with everything you have.

GO GET YOUR GO GET.

Whatever God has placed before you, whatever He has called you to become, whatever door He has opened, whatever Jordan He has told you to cross, and whatever purpose He has placed inside your heart, be strong and courageous. Believe His Word. Follow Him. Obey Him. Then, when God says go, GO GET IT.

At 54 years old, when I look back over my life, I do not want to say that I simply existed. I want to know that when God said go, I went. When He opened the door, I walked through it. When He told me to move, I moved. When He put something in front of me and said, “Go get it,” I went after it.

Life is meant to be lived. Do not spend your life sitting on the sidelines watching somebody else live theirs. Follow God. Trust His Word. Be strong and courageous. Discover what He has called you to do, and then have enough faith to pursue it.

GO GET YOUR GO GET.

“Life is defined by what you’re willing to fight for—and what you have the courage to go after.”

— Johnny Mengarelli