Gtcotr/ws06k0309
Key Scripture: Psalms 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.
Turn with me to the book of Joshua where I trust we can find some elements of Joshua’s success which we can apply to our own lives.
At this particular time in history, Joshua, the son of Nun, from the tribe of Ephraim, was already 85 years old. He had been following Moses in the wilderness since leaving Egypt over 40 years earlier.
Joshua had been Moses’ right hand man in the wilderness and had also witnessed the miracles Moses did in Egypt. Joshua crossed the Red Sea on dry ground and was later chosen to be one of the twelve men who first spied out the Land of Canaan a generation earlier.
When Joshua was only in his mid forties he was a slave to Pharaoh in Egypt. One day a man named Moses came to town declaring that the Great God, I Am, had sent him to deliver the Children of Israel from bondage. Joshua heard the stories of a promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey, a land wherein the Children of Israel would eat bread without no lack and rest in freedom from all of their enemies.
Tell the continuing story of Joshua for the next 40 plus years as a spy, a servant to Moses and now, after Moses’ death, at 85 years old, Joshua is the leader of the Nation of Israel.
What makes Joshua, or anyone else, or even God for that matter, think he is the man who is going to accomplish what Moses did not?
Interesting thought, however … over the following 25 years Joshua did just that. He led Israel across the Jordan River on dry ground, brought the walls of Jericho tumbling down, defeated every foe in Canaan and divided the promise land among the tribes. Joshua died at 110 years old completing the work Moses started.
Again, what made Joshua able to succeed where Moses evidently did not? Well God shared with Joshua some key elements of leadership that guaranteed his success. Let’s read beginning in Joshua the first chapter and see if we can identify some of these key elements.
Joshua 1 NKJV
1 ¶ After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying:
2 "Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel.
3 "Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses.
4 "From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory.
5 "No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you.
6 "Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.
7 "Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go.
8 "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
Three times in this brief passage God commands Joshua to be strong and courageous. So, I suppose these two elements should be at the top of our list of leadership qualities without regard to who and where we are called to lead … family, business, community, church.
1. Strong
2. Courageous
The concept of being strong here does not imply a physical strength which Joshua could use to intimidate his followers, but rather this word means to be resolute. (A determination which holds us steady to course despite the oppositions or obstacles we face … A security which comes from knowing who you are and whose you are.)
Courage, on the other hand, is the ability to attempt the impossible and the guts to try things which others, even others better than you, tried and failed.
Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
Be resolved to not let fear rule your life or dictate your decisions and on another note: Be fearless and don’t get caught off guard, don’t become discouraged, don’t get depressed or be detoured by the things which happen along life’s way. Be strong and courageous!
You know, these things are necessary to any leader who has been given a great job to accomplish. Courage and determination are very common elements of leadership and not only did Joshua have these qualities resident within him, but Moses also had them. So far we haven’t seen anything in Joshua’s life that Moses did not also possess … and yet Moses allowed the people to get the best of him …
If Joshua is going to succeed where Moses did not, he is going to have to come up with something else to add to his leadership tool kit. What else is there? Is there anything else in this brief exhortation from God to Joshua that would make him successful?
Joshua 1:8 "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
3. The Written Word of God on Which to Meditate
Meditating on God’s Word is one of the lost arts of leadership. Almost no one teaches the power and the promises of meditation. With all of the get rich quick schemes and success gimmicks sold on the market today I would not be surprised to find little or nothing at all about the biblical principles of meditating as a guaranteed pathway to prosperity and success. But – we have God’s Word on that matter!
What is meditation? The best way I have found to explain it to the modern man in today’s world is to liken meditation to something many face on a daily basis … worry!
Meditation, for lack of a better example, is just worring in reverse. Worry is simply believing that what the devil or the world or our own circumstances say is going to come to pass and there is absolutely nothing which can be done to stop it. That’s the art of meditation.
Meditation is worrying about what God says coming to pass and convincing ourselves that nothing can be done to stop it. Whether it pertains to forgiveness, salvation, healing, finances, relationships, or our future, God’s Word is true and if given the chance in our life, God’s Word will change our situation to line up with God’s Will.
A great part of our prosperity and success is believing and confessing the Word of God. This begins by putting the Word in our hearts and filling our minds with God’s commands. As we place God’s Word in our thoughts and allow that Word to turn over and over in our minds, beginning when we rise from our sleep, when we walk in the way, as we sit with our friends and lay upon our beds at night, we will receive powerful, life giving and life changing revelation from the Holy Spirit.
The living Word of God will get off the page and into our life.
