Category Archives: Joshua

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Arresting Spiritual Drift

When God Speaks—Be Quick to Obey!

SUMMARY: Who is going to be God in your life? That is a pertinent question for you today, because you are going to worship someone, or something. Your god is whatever you are putting your full-throttled dependence upon and allegiance to. Take it from the ancient Israelites—there is only one God who is worthy of your dependence and devotion. They learned that the hard way so you don’t have to.

God Speaks—I Obey // Focus: Judges 10:15-16

But the Israelites pleaded with the Lord and said, “We have sinned. Punish us as you see fit, only rescue us today from our enemies.” Then the Israelites put aside their foreign gods and served the Lord. And he was grieved by their misery.

Same song, twenty-ninth verse: Israel abandons the worship of God only to chase after the local deities of the Canaanites. So, God lifts his hand of blessing from them and allows them to have what they want—a visible, controllable, lucky-charm god. But as before, again sad results ensue: They are left defenseless against cruel enemies, their agrarian economy collapses, their families suffer undue hardship, and their lives are miserable under the rule of foreign gods and nations. Then, predictably, they come to themselves, cry out to God, repent, and God sends a rescuer. That is the story repeated over and over in the Book of Judges.

Of course, we have the advantage of looking back at this four-hundred-year period and viewing it only as a relatively short snapshot of history. It wasn’t. There were long patterns of obedience and blessing on Israel’s part—ten, twenty, fifty years of faithfulness to God. But then Israel would cycle into spiritual lassitude and moral drift until finally they were into full-on backsliding. And the oppressive consequences would follow—ten, twenty, thirty years of domination by godless and ruthless enemies.

So why didn’t the children of Israel learn their lesson after the first beating? Why did they drift into idol worship over and over again? What was their infatuation with other gods? Again, we look back upon their history without understanding the long, dark periods of time that the nation cycled through, and in so doing, we fail to realize that we are prone to the same kind of drift and wrong dependencies as they were—we’re just a little more sophisticated with our worship of idols. The Quest Study Bible offers some reasons for their infatuation with local idols, and as you ponder these, see if you can identify your own tendencies to drift from utter dependence and ruthless obedience to God:

1. Idols were physical objects that could be seen (Leviticus 26:1). Israel’s God, on the other hand, was unseen.

2. Idols could be carried, controlled, and confined. Israel’s God, however, was an awesome and mysterious God who could not be manipulated by his people. He “moved” whenever and wherever he wanted.

3. Foreign gods were thought to have power over crops, a prime concern of the Israelites. The people were superstitious and didn’t want to risk their harvests by offending the pagan gods.

4. Some foreign gods were believed to give fertility to the womb. The worship of these gods involved religious prostitution 1( Kings 14:24) and other sexually immoral practices, which appealed to the sensual desires of the Israelites. The Israelites may have concluded that it was better to indulge in these pleasurable activities than to displease the gods of fertility.

5. Idol worship was a cultural norm. The Israelites often found it easier to join in local customs than to go against them.

Who is going to be God in your life? That is a pertinent question for you today, because you are going to worship someone, or something. Your god is whatever you are putting your full-throttled dependence upon and allegiance to. Of course, we don’t worship literal images made of wood, stone, silver, or gold as the ancient Israelites did, but wouldn’t you agree that we are just as susceptible to the seduction of less visible but highly sophisticated idols like money, sex, and power?

If you are placing importance, expending energy, and making a personal investment in things that drown out your full-throttled devotion to and dependence on God, you have made them into an idol. But here’s the deal: At the end of the day, those things will have amounted to nothing. In fact, they will have done real harm to the blessings that God would have poured out in your life had you waited upon him in devotion and dependence.

If reading through this is convicting you at all, I would suggest you quickly get on your knees and cry out to God in sincere repentance, as the Israelites did. Put aside your wrong dependencies and misplaced devotions and worship God alone. Perhaps he will be grieved by your misery and reach out to you in love.

Rather, it is more likely that he will reach out to you in love.

Choose You This Day: Where have you put devotion and dependence on someone or something other than God? Arrest that spiritual drift by crying out to God, rejecting your false gods, and turning fully toward him. Allow him to bless you once again—he really wants to.

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Ready, Fire, Aim

When God Speaks—Be Quick to Obey!

SUMMARY: Joshua’s failure to seek God first should serve as a cautionary tale as you make decisions today. Even in small, seemingly insignificant ones, be innocent of hastiness. Seek God first in all matters, large and small. And when you are ready to move forward in a matter, follow the correct protocol: ready, AIM, fire. May you always, always say, “I will seek the Lord first!”

God Speaks—I Obey // Focus: Joshua 9:14-16

The men of Israel looked the Gibeonites over and accepted the evidence [that they came from a long distance away]. But they didn’t ask God about it. They examined their food, and it appeared old, but they did not consult the Lord. Then Joshua made a peace treaty with them, guaranteeing their safety, and the leaders of the community ratified the agreement with a binding oath. Three days after making the treaty, they learned that these people actually lived nearby.

“But they didn’t ask God about it.” No matter how overwhelming the evidence, no matter how good the idea, no matter how much something makes sense, we dishonor God, and in the long run if not the short term, hurt ourselves by leaving him out of the picture.

In this case, Joshua and his leaders made a hasty decision about a nation-tribe that lived in the land of Canaan, the Gibeonites. The Lord had instructed the Israelites to possess the land by dispossessing the peoples who lived there. They should have destroyed the Gibeonites according to God’s orders, but the Gibeonites deceived Joshua’s leadership team into thinking they were not a part of those city-states that were devoted to destruction.

Joshua’s mistake was in assuming! In the spiritual realm, assuming pre-decides God’s will, it presumes to know what God desires in a matter. The sin of presumption is a big deal in the Old Testament, and the outcome of this sin is particularly destructive to the kingdom life in Israel. Had Joshua’s team asked God for his wisdom in the matter on the front side, the leaders would have been spared this embarrassing disobedience on the backside.

Interestingly, even after discovering that the Gibeonites had deceived Israel into making this peace treaty, Joshua nevertheless honored the treaty he had just made with them. Even though it had been made under false pretenses, Joshua was not guilt-free in this matter. He had not consulted the Lord. I suspect Joshua’s attitude was a precursor to what the psalmist spoke of in Psalm 15, when he spoke of those who walked blamelessly in God’s sight. Among the characteristics of such people,

They keep their promises even when it hurts. (Psalm 15:4)

Now by all rights, Joshua could have broken the treaty he had just made and killed the deceptive Gibeonites—but their submissive posture and willingness to take on the faith commands of the Israelite community spared them from destruction. Joshua kept his oath, even though it hurt.

Fast forward to your life. Do you assume God’s will and fail to seek his input in your daily decisions, both great and small? Do you presume upon God? Are you guilty of a ready, fire, aim approach to living out your faith in the world where God has asked you to represent him? This is so easy to do, and we probably commit Joshua’s sin more often than we think.

Today, may Joshua’s failure to ask God first serve as a cautionary tale as you make decisions. Even in small, seemingly insignificant ones, be innocent of hastiness. Seek God first in all matters, large and small. And when you are ready to move forward in a matter, follow the correct protocol: ready, AIM, fire. May you always, always say, “I will seek the Lord first!”

Hmmm…sounds like something to which the Founder of our faith has called us: seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. Be a seek-first person!

Choose You This Day: What is on your to-do list today? What is on the drawing board for your future? Have you asked God first? Have you sought his input before you move even one step forward? If not, do it. If you have, keep doing it!

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Don’t Sacrifice Eternal Blessings For Temporal Fixes

When God Speaks—Be Quick to Obey!

SUMMARY: God desires to bless us—he really does. But there is a path to blessing that we must follow. The path is against the grain of human reasoning and self-gratification, but it is the one and only path that God has chosen for his people to walk. Walk it, my friend! It always leads to untold blessing!

God Speaks—I Obey // Focus: Joshua 8:2

After Israel’s defeat against Ai, the Lord said, “You will destroy Ai this time as you destroyed Jericho and its king. But this time, you may keep the plunder and the livestock for yourselves.

God told Israel to completely destroy Jericho—an evil city that was a part of an exceedingly evil culture—which happened to stand directly in the way as Israel entered the Promised Land. It was the first city of conquest, and as such, it was the first fruits of sorts—the initial battle of their conquest of Canaan. The first fruits belong to God—in this case and every time. God says, “Give it to me, then I will give you the rest. This is how you will honor me and keep me first in your life.” Thus, with Jericho, the spoils of the battle were to be totally devoted to the Lord by annihilating this evil city and everything in it.

Yet one man, Achan, secretly, selfishly, and in willful disregard of what God had just commanded, took some plunder (Joshua 7:20-21), and, as a result, this individual’s disobedience led to a national disgrace settled upon Israel. The Israelites lost the next battle—one they should have easily won—and scores of warriors died. Because of the sin of one man, the whole nation suffered. Sound familiar? That is exactly what happened when Adam sinned,

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. (Romans 5:12)

When you read the story of Achan’s punishment—and the brutality of his entire family being executed for his sin—and you are both feeling sorry for them and miffed that God overreacted, keep in mind that thousands of Israelites were mourning the deaths of their warrior sons who had been killed in battle because of this one man’s selfish act. That will put the harsh consequences of disobedience placed upon Achan, along with his entire family, into a sobering but more understandable light.

The takeaway from this story, and it is a sad one, is that Achan could have had everything his heart desired had he just followed the Lord’s commands. As we see in this next battle, the soldiers were free to take the plunder.

When Israel had finished killing all the men of Ai in the fields and in the wilderness where they had chased them, and when every one of them had been put to the sword, all the Israelites returned to Ai and killed those who were in it. Twelve thousand men and women fell that day—all the people of Ai. For Joshua did not draw back the hand that held out his javelin until he had destroyed all who lived in Ai. But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the Lord had instructed Joshua. (Joshua 8:24-27)

Achan made the mistake we often make: Sacrificing a future of promised blessings that arrive only through trust and obedience for quick but temporal fixes that will end up destroying us. Call it what you will—delayed gratification, long-range planning, ruthless trust—waiting upon God in faith and obedience is the job of the Christian. And scripture is replete with promises for those who do:

No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced, but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others. (Psalm 25:5)

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. (Psalm 37:4-5)

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. (Matthew 6:33)

The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)

God desires to bless us—he really does! But there is a path to blessing that we must follow. The path is against the grain of human reasoning and self-gratification, but it is the one and only path that God has chosen for his people to walk.

Walk it, my friend! It always leads to untold blessing!

Choose You This Day: Here is a prayer I invite you to join me in lifting to the Lord: “Dear Father, would I have been an Achan? Would I have given in to temptation and disobeyed you? Am I doing that now? Oh Lord, I don’t even want an answer to that—I just want you to purge me of any disobedience and faithlessness. I want to be pleasing to you. I don’t want to bring shame and injury upon my family or my church. I want to partake of the amazing blessings that come by trust and obedience. I want to be a part of the Joshua crowd, not the Achan clan. Lord, cleanse me and set my feet on solid ground. Lead me in the way everlasting. Establish my coming and my going so that I am completely devoted and pleasing to you!”

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Painful Lessons

When God Speaks—Be Quick to Obey!

SUMMARY: We’ve been steeped in a cultural mindset of individualism to the point that we now simply cannot, or will not, consider the possibility of God’s response to community when life in that community goes sideways because of the sin of one. As believers, we need to give careful thought to how our individual behavior will affect those with whom we share life in our covenantal group—marriage, family, team, church, etc. The hard truth is, my private actions affect my public relationships.

God Speaks—I Obey // Focus: Joshua 7:11-13

The Lord replied to Joshua, “Israel has sinned and broken my covenant! They have stolen some of the things that I commanded must be set apart for me. And they have not only stolen them but have lied about it and hidden the things among their own belongings. That is why the Israelites are running from their enemies in defeat. For now Israel itself has been set apart for destruction. I will not remain with you any longer unless you destroy the things among you that were set apart for destruction. Get up! Command the people to purify themselves in preparation for tomorrow. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Hidden among you, O Israel, are things set apart for the Lord. You will never defeat your enemies until you remove these things from among you.

Any schoolkid of previous generations knows the “unfairness” of the class being punished for the wrongdoing of one unidentified classmate whose crime has yet to be found out. “How unfair, Teacher, that we all have to miss recess because one person stole your apple!”

That is what is happening to the nation of Israel in this story from Joshua 7. They’re being punished—all of them—for one man’s sin. Of course, Israel was unique in that it was a theocracy, and we don’t live under that system today in our pluralistic democracy. So, what was applied to Israel may not be exactly applied in our nation—although I suspect there is still a divine principle at play. Yet each of us does live in a theocratic community if we belong to a family or a church. And in that sense, we need to give careful thought as to how our individual behavior might affect those who share life with us in the community of Christ.

Israel had just experienced the extreme thrill of defeating the great walled city of Jericho—an impenetrable fortress by ancient standards. But it collapsed like a house of cards before the Lord’s people. Then, just days later, in the next battle, Israel was unexpectedly stunned at the fierce resistance of the small band of fighters of a village called Ai. In a matter of hours, God’s people went from the sublime to the ridiculous. Ai was a relatively small and defenseless city of no account, yet they fought for their very existence against the Israelite army—and they punched them in the nose. Thirty-six of Israel’s fighting men were immediately killed in battle, and the rout was on. Israel was stunned and disheartened.

All because of the sin of one man—Achan!

No matter how many times we moderns read the ancient story of the Israelites, we run across stories like this, Achan’s sin, and are left shaking our heads in wonderment—and not in the positive sense of wonderment. This is not a warm, fuzzy, and inspiring story. And there are many like it with which we must contend as we journey through the Old Testament.

When we read these stories—and admittedly, we don’t have the full backstory in every case—we are struck with a bad case of the fear of the Lord. There is no denying the anxiety we feel over his fierce holiness and the swift, sweeping judgment against human violation of that holiness, for if this happened because of one sin, we don’t stand a chance before God for our many sins.

Furthermore, the story in Joshua 7 is not just a one-off; there have been plenty. To name a few, we have witnessed the death of Nadab and Abihu for offering unholy fire on the altar (Leviticus 10), the execution of a blasphemer who cursed God’s name during a fight (Leviticus 24:10-23), the gruesome killing of a man who brought a Moabite woman into his tent to have sex with her—in broad daylight (Numbers 25), and now the stoning of a young man named Achan, along with his entire family, because he kept some of the expensive plunder from the battle of Jericho for himself.

Not that we would condone any of these sins—nobody who truly follows the Lord would justify any of these deliberate violations of God’s commands. Even still, the immediacy and severity of the punishment is hard to swallow for people like us who live at a time where consequences for actions seem to be decreasingly certain. So, we read stories like this, and if we do anything with them at all, we simply toss them into the “Painful Lessons” file.

One of those painful lessons here is the corporate-ness of sin. In our culture, we worship individualism. In fact, the early heroes who built our nation are praised for their rugged individualism. A large percentage of us are proud of that and have embraced that this is the superior way to live. While we nod our heads in agreement that the whole community is important, we tend to see the parts as more important than the whole; the many are servant to the one. You likely have your own story of whining that the whole class was punished for the actions of one student. To our Western mindset, that is the height of unfairness.

Yet while we embrace the idea of unity in the community, and the blessings that derive from it, why would we not accept the opposite? Why should we be surprised when the whole community suffers because an individual violated its values? If God favors corporate unity (Psalm 133:1-3), why would he lift his favor from the community when sin invades it through an individual member? But in God’s economy, it cuts both ways—the whole is blessed when the parts are right; the whole is cursed when the parts are wrong.

I suspect you are still not convinced. I don’t like it either. But we have been so steeped in a cultural mindset of individualism that we simply cannot, or will not, embrace God’s response to community when life in the community goes sideways. Of course, Israel was unique in that it was a theocracy, and we don’t live under that system today in our pluralistic democracy. So, what was applied to Israel may not be applied to the same degree in our nation—although I suspect there is still a divine principle at play.

Yet each of us does live in a theocratic community if we belong to a family, small group, ministry team, or church. And in that sense, we need to give careful thought as to how our individual behavior might affect those who share life with us in the community. And while we don’t suffer the same degree of punishment that Achan and his family suffered, we can—and should—learn the painful lesson of Achan: My private actions affect my public relationships.

I love painful lessons—said no one ever—but thank God for them!

Choose You This Day: Take a moment to prayerfully consider how your private attitudes, habits and actions affect your public relationships. Moreover, when the next temptation to sin comes your way (which will probably be in the next five minutes), ask yourself how giving in to it will affect your relationships at home, in the church, and in your relational world.

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We Have One Job and One Job Only: Make Jesus Famous

When God Speaks—Be Quick to Obey!

SUMMARY: Never in the history of Christianity have we had so many famous pastors—and those wanting to become famous—as we do now. But the biblically approved spiritual leader, the one with whom God is pleased, has one job and one job only: to make Jesus famous! And if Jesus wants to make the leader famous, well, that is Jesus’ business.

God Speaks—I Obey // Focus: Joshua 6:27

So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land.

As media technologies continue to increase, so has the universal rise of celebrity preachers. Never in the history of Christianity have we had so many famous pastors—and those wanting to become famous—as we do now. If you’re a spiritual leader and you aren’t hawking all the books you have authored, beaming your mug to adoring congregants to a multi-site campus, tweeting to your six-figure social media followers, and getting quoted by the media on the issue du jour, you ain’t all that much.

Of course, technology now allows us to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world in unprecedented ways—and that is a great thing. But inherent in this ability to communicate to the masses is the danger of showcasing ourselves rather than showcasing Jesus. The god of fame lurks; the seduction of celebrity has never been stronger in the Christian world than it is right now—and that’s not a great thing!

The true spiritual leader, the one with whom God is well pleased, has one job and one job only: to make Jesus famous! And if Jesus wants to make the leader famous, well, that is Jesus’ business. Unlike far too many of today’s Christian celebrities, Joshua was a leader whom God decided to make famous. Joshua 2:7 and 4:14 says,

The Lord told Joshua, ‘Today I will begin to make you a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites. They will know that I am with you, just as I was with Moses.’ …That day the Lord made Joshua a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites, and for the rest of his life they revered him as much as they had revered Moses.

And, of course, our featured verse today says, “God was with Joshua. He became famous all over the land.” (The Message) How refreshing! In today’s culture of celebrity, where leaders do whatever they can to make themselves famous, here was a guy who didn’t have to. God did it for him. And there is no better PR firm than the Holy Trinity!

What makes a leader great and opens the door to his or her fame? Some would say charisma is the key. Others might say it’s a combination of skill, intellect, and the ability to inspire others to accomplish a compelling mission. Then there are those who would argue that not only are charisma and persuasion necessary, but it’s also a matter of being the right person in the right place and the right time.

I wouldn’t argue with any of those ideas. But above all else, I would argue that what makes a leader a great and fame-worthy leader is simply God’s touch upon his or her life. Where God makes a man or woman great in the eyes of the people, there you have the makings of a leader who is one for the ages. Joshua was just such a leader.

In Joshua, you find true success! Not that he leveraged his considerable talents, sharp intellect, political capital, magnanimous personality, and a stellar resume of past achievements of leading the Israelites to victory, but it was that God made him great in the eyes of the people. Never did Joshua take any credit for himself in the victories and miracles that God performed. As Moses had been a humble leader, so, too, was Joshua. Like his predecessor, he was a true servant of God and of the Israelites. He served at God’s pleasure and recognized that his success came only by God’s power and grace. And it was God who made Joshua great before all Israel.

That’s the kind of leader I want to be. I want to be a great leader because of God’s touch on my life; because of the work that he does in, for, and through me. If there is anything that makes me worth following, may it be because of what God has done. What I do through my own gifts, personality, and personal determination will, at best, quickly fade. But what God does through me will last for all eternity, and best of all, bring all the glory to the God who has equipped me to lead.

What about you? Do you desire to be a leader—a person of influence in your home, school, business, or some other arena? You might feel unqualified and unworthy. Part of you may want to let someone else to lead; someone more qualified, smarter, holier, better than you. But it could be that God has placed in you the kinds of gifts, talents, brainpower, and favor that he wants to use in leading people to extend his Kingdom in this world.

If God is calling you to leadership, submit your life to him. Then, if he chooses, let God make you great in the eyes of those you would lead.

However, if you are already a leader who has the adoration of the masses, do whatever you can to deflect the glory back to the God who deserves the glory alone. Whatever glory you give to God through your life and ministry, the more bless-able you will be—right now and throughout all eternity.

Choose You This Day: When you evaluate the spiritual leader whom God has placed over your life, make sure this is the chief indicator of their greatness: Their consuming passion is to make Jesus famous. If it isn’t, seriously pray for that leader. If so, thank God for them and do everything you can to affirm their leadership.

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The One Thing You Will Never Regret

When God Speaks—Be Quick to Obey!

SUMMARY: Whenever you step forward in faith, God will do the rest: rivers will part, dry land will appear, walls will fall, enemies will flee, the sun will stand still, and the Land of Promise will become your Land of Possession. You will never regret putting your trust in the Lord.

God Speaks—I Obey // Focus: Joshua 5:1

Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.

Contrast this story with the one we read in Numbers 13-14 about the 12 spies returning from surveying Canaan. Ten of those spies came back from reconnoitering the Promised Land and gave a very pessimistic report to Moses and the Israelites. And when God’s people heard it, they lost heart and became paralyzed with fear.

But the ten spies said, “We can’t attack those people; they’re way stronger than we are.” They spread scary rumors among the people of Israel. They said, “We scouted out the land from one end to the other—it’s a land that swallows people whole. Everybody we saw was huge. Why, we even saw the Nephilim giants (the Anak giants come from the Nephilim). Alongside them we felt like grasshoppers. And they looked down on us as if we were grasshoppers.” The whole community was in an uproar, wailing all night long. All the People of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The entire community was in on it: “Why didn’t we die in Egypt? Or in this wilderness? Why has God brought us to this country to kill us? Our wives and children are about to become plunder. Why don’t we just head back to Egypt? And right now!” Soon they were all saying it to one another: “Let’s pick a new leader; let’s head back to Egypt.” (Numbers 13:31-14:4, MSG)

What a lost opportunity! If only they had remained faithful to God and confident in his call, the same story that the Israelites experienced in Joshua 5 would have become theirs. That same race of giants, the Nephilim, that made the Israelites feel like grasshoppers, were now the ones who were feeling small, as we read in our current story:

Their hearts sank; the courage drained out of them just thinking about the people of Israel. (Joshua 5:1, MSG)

Joshua 5 could have occurred forty years earlier, and the people Moses led out of Egypt would have entered their Promised Land. Instead, they forfeited the promises of God for death in the wilderness because of fear and disobedience. Untold numbers of people died over four decades, with the most disheartening words in the library of human language on their lips: “If only.” What might have been had they just trusted the God who had led them?

 

Fortunately, the next generation learned a very difficult but important lesson at their parents’ expense. They witnessed the unbelief of their fathers and mothers and the harsh consequences of shrinking back in fear, and determined that, while there might be other sins, unbelief would not be one of theirs. They stepped forward in faith, and behold, God did the rest: rivers parted, dry land appeared, walls fell, enemies fled, the sun stood still, and the Land of Promise became the Land of Possession.

No one has ever regretted trusting God. Obedience to the call of the Lord has never left a person disappointed. God has never abandoned anyone who followed his command. Not a single person who stepped out to put God’s promises to the test has ever died whispering, “What might have been if I had just NOT trusted God so much.” As the prophet said in Jeremiah 17:7-8,

But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.”

Trust God completely, and you will live a satisfying life of no regrets!

Choose You This Day: Trust God! Whatever is before you today, walk into it with confidence. If you are obeying God, he is not only with you, but also before you.

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The Making of a Great Leader

When God Speaks—Be Quick to Obey!

SUMMARY: What makes a leader great? Some would say charisma is the key. Others might say it’s a combination of skill, intellect, and the ability to inspire people to accomplish a mission. Then some argue that not only are charisma and persuasion necessary, but it’s also a matter of being the right person in the right place at the right time. I wouldn’t argue with any of those ideas. But foremost, I would say that what makes a leader a great leader is no less than God’s touch upon his or her life.

God Speaks—I Obey // Focus: Joshua 4:14

That day the Lord made Joshua a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites, and for the rest of his life they revered him as much as they had revered Moses.

What makes a leader great? Some would say charisma is the key. Others might say it’s a combination of skill, intellect, and the ability to inspire others to accomplish the mission. Then there are those who would argue that not only are charisma and persuasion necessary, but it’s a matter of also being the right person in the right place and the right time.

I wouldn’t argue with any of those ideas. But foremost, I would argue that what makes a leader a great leader is no less than God’s touch upon his or her life. Or at least that’s what should be the defining factor in great leadership. Where God makes a man or woman great in the eyes of the people, there you have the makings of a leader who is one for the ages. Joshua was just such a leader.

In Joshua, you find true success! Not that he leveraged his considerable talents, sharp intellect, political capital, past successes, and magnanimous personality to lead the people to victory, but that God made him great in the eyes of the people. Never did Joshua take any credit for himself in the victories and miracles that God performed. As Moses had been a humble leader, so, too, was Joshua. Like his predecessor, he was a true servant of God and priestly guide of the Israelites. He served at God’s pleasure and recognized that his success came only by God’s power and grace. And God made Joshua great before all Israel.

Notice the backstory to the verse I selected for today’s reading; here is Joshua 2:7 in combination with Joshua 4:14:

The Lord told Joshua, ‘Today I will begin to make you a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites. They will know that I am with you, just as I was with Moses” …. That day the Lord made Joshua a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites, and for the rest of his life they revered him as much as they had revered Moses.

That’s the kind of leader I want to be. I want to be a great leader because of God’s touch on my life; because of the work that he does in, for, and through me. If there is anything that makes me worth following, may it be because of what God has done. What I do through my own gifts, personality, and personal determination will, at best, quickly fade. But what God does through me will last for all eternity, and best of all, bring all the glory to the God who has equipped me to lead.

What about you? Do you desire to be a leader? You might feel unqualified and unworthy. Part of you may want to let someone else lead; someone more qualified, more intelligent, holier, and better than you. But it could be that God has placed in you the kinds of gifts, talents, brainpower, and favor that he wants to use in leading people to extend his Kingdom in this world.

If God is calling you to leadership, submit your life to him. Then let God make you great in the eyes of those you would lead.

Choose You This Day: When you think of the advancement of God’s kingdom over the millennia, it is amazing how many times this saying has been true of its leaders: “God didn’t call the qualified, He qualified the called.” Maybe he wants to qualify you! He still looks for a few good men…and women! So, have a conversation with him today about that.