Focal Passage: Joshua 1:1-9
Some years ago, as a college student looking for a way to make some extra income, I applied for a job with the U.S. Census Bureau. I was expecting a low-level job, but based on some of the skills I gained as part of my college degree-program, I was assigned a supervisor role over a survey crew. While I was flattered, I was in over my head. How was I, a young student, supposed to supervise and manage folks much older and more experienced than me?
Imagine Joshua’s predicament as he inherited leadership over Israel as they prepared to take the Promised Land – a job previously held by none other than Moses. Yet Joshua was not left on his own to fill those shoes. Just as Moses had been inadequate on his own, Joshua too would need to depend on God for the wisdom and strength to lead.
We may not be called to the same type of leadership as Joshua, but there are certainly some principles we can gather from the text and apply to our lives.
We have all been called to some form of leadership: it may be formal leadership in your work or school, or it may not come with a fancy title at all. You might be a leader in your home or in your local church. Regardless of the form our leadership may take, we must remember the ultimate goal: lead them to Christ!
What does this mean? In whatever form of leadership you are involved in, you are ultimately called to reflect the character of Christ and to point not to your glory, but to His! This is no easy task. It is a task rooted in complete dependence upon God. How can we be strong and courageous and not turn right or left from what He commands? We must look to Christ! Submit to His authority and direction as you lead. It is in the scriptures that we know what He commands, and it is in communion with Him that we find the power to do it!