God is particularly interested in what is going on within the heart of man. Specifically, He seeks for, and desires to find, TRUTH.
God has a calling on each man’s life. Furthermore, He enables men to fulfill their appointed work. Man, however, must be strong and DO the work.
Change often results in fear. As such, it must be met with strength. Failure to do so can breed panic that only God's strength can overcome.
As the people had honoured the Lord, they had honoured Moses. When Moses placed his honour upon Joshua, he did so in order to encourage the people’s obedience and loyalty toward Joshua. Moses wanted the same loyalty that had been directed toward him now directed toward Joshua. God’s people could have risen up against Joshua thinking that he had not accomplished enough to merit their loyalty. Yet, the people respected the fact that Moses had directly placed his own honour upon his minister Joshua. The people emphatically accepted Moses’ message as reflected by their answer to Joshua: “According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the LORD thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses” (Joshua 1:17).
Sometimes we forget that the first four letters of the word ministry spell out the word “mini.” Ministry is never about becoming popular or famous or lording over others. Ministry involves decreasing while allowing others to increase. Two of the greatest men of the Bible (Joshua and Elisha) got their start as ministers to their predecessors. Before Joshua led the Israelites into Canaan, he was the minister of Moses (Joshua 1:1). His ministry entailed submitting himself to the needs of the man of God. Elisha, another great leader, did not begin as the great prophet of God that performed miracles. He, instead, began as Elijah’s minister (1 Kings 19:19-21). His ministry included the “lofty task” of pouring water on the hands of Elijah. Far too many young men graduate Bible college with the intention of making a name for themselves rather than humbly serving a God who humbled Himself (Philippians 2:8).
Psalm 119 is filled with statements promoting the necessity of the word of God. Seven times in this psalm we find a statement declaring the writer’s desire to meditate upon the words of God. Three of these times he states emphatically that he will meditate in God’s statutes or His precepts (Psalm 119:15, 48, 78). Not only was meditating upon God’s words something that the psalmist desired to do in the future, but he had formed this habit long ago (Psalm 119:23, 99). The writer of this psalm, like other successful believers in the past, made it common practice to meditate in the words of God both day and night (Psalm 119:97; Psalm 1:2; Joshua 1:8).
Before a man will ever learn how to be a great leader, he must first learn how to be a dependable follower. If he cannot serve without receiving recognition, he will never know how to handle the recognition once he takes on a leadership role. If a man will not follow instructions, he will never be equipped to give instructions that others should follow. Long before Joshua led the children of Israel into the land of promise, he faithfully served as the minister of Moses. Before Joshua became known as the leader of a nation, he faithfully gave himself to the previous leader of Israel. Likewise, before David became the king of Israel, he submitted himself as a servant to Saul. And lastly, before Elisha ever became a great prophet of God, he faithfully served under Elijah’s tutelage.
The Bible reveals that Moses was one of Israel’s greatest leaders. To be the leader of the nation of Israel after Moses would have been a daunting task. Yet, this is exactly what God called Joshua to do. Immediately following the death of Moses, the Lord spoke to Joshua and twice instructed him to “be strong and of a good courage” (Joshua 1:6, 9). He also admonished him to “be thou strong and very courageous” (Joshua 1:7). Without godly courage, Joshua would have shied away from the great responsibilities thrust upon him. If he lacked courage, how could he admonish others to trust God and have great courage? Only courageous people can truly lead others during times when courage is necessary.
