"Moses, my servant, is dead." For forty years, the young nation had been held together by the faithfulness of one leader to his God. The nation complained, the nation wandered, the nation rebelled. The prophetic power and the personal humility of Moses anchored the double-minded faith of a nation. His strong faith in God led the nation through plagues and war, hunger and defeat, direction and judgment.
"Moses, my servant is dead." However, wayward the nation, 40 years of stability had resulted from Moses' leadership. Joshua had been there as Moses' aid, observing his trust in God, his leadership style, and the willingness of the people to follow. Now, God was calling Joshua to put on Moses' mantle, but without the encouragement, stability, and strength of his mentor's presence. What resources did Joshua have in the enterprise to come?
*The promise of the presence of God
*The Book of the Law on which to meditate and obey
*The support of the people
"Be strong and courageous." It was no mean task to don the mantle of leadership in the wake of Moses' death. Joshua would need every ounce of power, strength, and courage to assume the task. It is not enough to say that the character of Joshua or the circumstances of the hour predisposed him to leadership. It was the calling of God.
Thomas Carlyle as a historian wrote "We have known times call loudly enough for their great men, but not find them when they called. They were not there..the time, calling its loudest, had to go down to confusion and wreck because he would not come when called."
Thank You, Lord, for those Christian leaders who have gone before us. They challenged us, trained us, corrected us, and inspired us to dream that You might have a plan for us as well. We shudder at the responsibility of the role You have given and we ask You to make us strong. Our courage and strength must come from You or we will not have it. Keep close to us and keep us close to Your Word. Amen.
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