Joshua. 1:8 “’This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.’”

The world defines success differently than the Lord. Just look at this verse. The Lord is speaking to Joshua. Now, don’t miss that point. Up until now He had only spoken to Moses, but now Moses is dead. He has been buried somewhere on the mountain, and Joshua is the new leader of Israel. He was uniquely qualified because he had been Moses’ right hand man for 40 years. He had heard the Lord speak to Moses, so he knew His voice. And now God tells Joshua to go in the Promised Land.

But God tells Joshua that the measure of his success won’t be the amount of land he captures or the amount of gold, silver and precious stones he collects as the booty of war. No, the measure of success that the Lord uses is how well he keeps God’s Word. Do you understand what He is telling Joshua? He is basically saying, “Joshua, the battles you will fight over there are the easy part. What is hard and will determine your success is how well you keep my Law.”

Your children are going to have wins and losses. They are going to fall flat on their faces at times. They are going to bring home the 1^st place trophy. Both of those, the triumph and the defeat, are part of growing and learning. But the real victory they will have in their lives is knowing and living the Word of God. That is where you play a huge role, Mom and Dad. How well are you doing helping them learn the Word?

Helping your child memorize verses will be a gift of success that YOU can give them for the rest of their lives. And YOU get to watch them succeed in life each and every time a verse is recalled in a life experience and lived out. Don’t measure your child’s success by the grades they make or the job they obtain. Watch success follow them as they apply God’s Word in their daily walk. “’…for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.’” Amen?