Joshua and his generation failed to follow through
and fully obey God’s command to drive out all the
inhabitants of the land of Canaan.  But when God
confronted them with their sin, they repented and
rededicated themselves to the Lord.  The nation of
Israel went on to serve the Lord all the days of Joshua. 

Judges 2:7 And the people served the LORD all
the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders
that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great
works of the LORD, that he did for Israel.

It is possible to impact our generation for good. 
We cannot guarantee how long our influence might
last.  We cannot even guarantee how long we will last. 
But we can choose to do what is right and be a force
for good in our generation.  We can stem the tide of
evil for ourselves and our children.  That is what
Joshua and his generation did.

We say that we are troubled by the direction of
our country.  We say that we are worried about the
future for our children and grandchildren.  But are
we sorry enough to repent of our own sin and choose
to do things differently, to do things right?  There is
a sorrow of this world that works death.  We need
godly sorrow that works repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10).
The hope for our generation lies in our willingness
to repent of our sin and do what is right. 

One of my earliest memories is from when I was in preschool. I was four years old and attending Hickory Grove Presbyterian Preschool, where my mom was one of the teachers. Occasionally we would watch movies projected onto the block wall of the basement, and one day we watched the story of “The Little Train Who Could.” I remember feeling sad for the train as his friends made fun of him. I remember feeling anxious as he finally had a chance to prove himself by hauling that big load up that hill. I remember cheering him on in my mind as he chugged, “I think I can, I think I can…” until he finally crested the top. It is
a wonderful story to teach children the values of determination and perseverance. 

But there is a downside to a story like that. The truth is that there are some things we cannot do, no matter how hard we try or think we can. If we stubbornly push ahead anyway, insisting that we can do something when it is impossible for us, we will become frustrated, angry, and eventually, give up altogether. This is especially true when it comes to spiritual things. Because we are sinners, there are some things that we cannot do on our own. We cannot save ourselves.
No amount of effort will ever be enough to merit salvation or pay off our sin debt. We cannot sanctify ourselves either. Some people teach that salvation is by grace, but sanctification is by works. That is a lie. We are sanctified the same way we are saved: by grace through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Instead of always saying, “I think I can,” we need to learn when to say, “I know I can’t.”