Thursdays with Joshua

Read Joshua 3:7-11 – And the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan.’” So Joshua said to the children of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God.” And Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites: Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan. (NKJV)

The best leaders give their best energy to following God. Sadly, many of those that God wants to use focus much of their attention on how and where they are leading and fail to focus on who they are following. When the Apostle Paul said, “Follow me as I follow Christ,” he laid down one of the unique principles of leadership in God’s kingdom (1 Cor. 11:1). Our greatest strength as leaders is built by our efforts to follow Christ. The leader, who neglects his own relationship with God because he is too busy with the tasks of being in charge, undercuts his strength and the purpose of God in his life. If God isn’t leading us, then we can’t lead others in the path He has chosen. In this passage, God affirms this truth in Joshua’s life. He promises to “exalt” Joshua as leader as Joshua gives himself to obedience and following where God leads.

– Dr. Mike Clarensau serves as Senior Director of the Healthy Church Network of the Assemblies of God.