The final thing I want to say is that Christian leaders must also demonstrate genuine faith in God. Joshua was preeminently a man of faith. God told Joshua, “This is the land and I’m going to give it to you.” Joshua believed God, so when he went into the land with the other spies and searched it out, he didn’t care if there were giants. It didn’t bother him that there were walled cities. Oh, certainly it was an obstacle; they had to be dealt with somehow. And later he was the commander who along with Israel’s tribes had to personally deal with them. But those things didn’t weigh heavily with him because Joshua believed God. And if God said He was going to give them the land, well, He was going to give them the land. Joshua would simply operate on that premise.
At that point in the story, God said, “Now’s the time. The years have rolled by. We stand at the edge of the Jordan. Now’s the time to go in and possess it.” And Joshua’s first words are, “Go through the camp and tell the people. Get the supplies ready because here we go. God is giving us the land.” If God says He will never leave us, then we act on that premise if we believe God. If God says He will bless us, then we operate on that premise if we believe God. We go forward boldly to take that which He has given us to take and to do the task that He has given us to do.
When a person is like that, when they’ve demonstrated faithfulness in the past, when they have a specific call, when they know the Word of God, and when they trust the God who has given that Word, then people will follow them. That’s what happened here because the people say to Joshua at the very end, “Whatever you have commanded us, we will do. And wherever you send us, we will go. Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God be with you as He was with Moses. Whoever rebels against your word and does not obey your words, whatever you may command them, will be put to death. Only be strong and courageous.” They were willing to follow him. Now we know they didn’t do what they said. They said, “Just as we fully obeyed Moses, so we will obey you.” But they hadn’t obeyed Moses—not fully. And they didn’t obey Joshua—not fully. Leadership is not easy. But Joshua wasn’t worried about that because his eyes were on God. May ours be also. May He raise up among our number the leaders that are desperately needed for our generation, for all the work we have before us to do.
