23. Joshua Succeeds Moses (Joshua 1:1-18).

by Wesley Blackburn

Have you ever had to step in and fill the shoes of a great leader?

I think that's one of the toughest things you can ask a person to do. As a pastor, part of my job means that almost always, I'll be stepping into a job that was done by someone else previously with the same people, same equipment, same resources, same budget, and all that good stuff. That can be a harrowing experience, because, quite frankly, people can be tough to lead. I remember taking over as the key leader in a leadership team at my high school, and the guy before me had left some huge shoes to fill. I can remember struggling with all the preconceived notions about what I was supposed to do, who I was supposed to be, and that sort of stuff. There was a lot of pressure, and it took me some time to really get used to it.

Maybe you've been in a similar situation before. But chances are that you (or I) weren't following Moses. Everyone had watched Moses be used by God to change the entire fate of a nation; once oppressed in Egypt, these men and women had seen their lives change from slavery to freedom, from feeling abandoned by God to seeing Him work for them in ways they never could have imagined. And now, Joshua has to step in and fill these seemingly impossible to fill shoes. So what's he going to do? God gives him two basic commands in this chapter: Joshua needs to be strong and courageous and obey the Law of Moses.

I find it interesting what God doesn't say. He doesn't give Joshua a particular leadership style. He doesn't tell Joshua he needs to act a certain way or become more this or less that. He says that if he will simply follow the Law God has given His people and if He will simply have courage, knowing that God is for him and on his side, then Joshua has nothing to worry about. Literally, God promises that "you may be successful wherever you go."

I think that what God told Joshua several thousand years ago still applies for us today. No matter what situation I'm in, if I continue to trust God and take the courageous (often difficult) step forward, then usually God is going to work in a cool way. If I continue to follow God's will for my life as revealed in Scripture, then I can know that I am arming myself for success, if not in this life, then definitely in the next.

Like most great things in life, it only has to be as hard as you make it. In Joshua's case (and I think in ours as well), the directions from God were simple: be courageous and do what I say. If we will follow this advice, God will surely use us to transform lives in a huge way.