Biblical Leaders: Joshua

There’s not a lot we know about Joshua outside of, or should I say before, his relationship with Moses. In fact, the very first blog I ever wrote was called, “Moses’s View On Discipleship.” That blog was based on some speculation on their relationship, but I believe it probably wasn’t that far off, and I’d love for you to go back and give it a read. There are so many similarities between these two men. They both led the Israelites. They both had “remove your sandals, you’re standing on holy ground” moments (Moses in Exodus 2, Joshua in Joshua 5). They both were anointed by God to lead His people.

In Deuteronomy 31, we see Moses passing the torch of leadership from himself to Joshua. Can you imagine having to be the successor to Moses? Joshua had some big sandals to fill. I think, and most would probably agree, Joshua was a courageous guy. We saw him stand his ground as one of the twelve spies that went into the Promised Land, but I think stepping into this new leadership role was equally courageous. Moses brought Joshua to the table because he believed he was bringing the best people to the table.

A coach and mentor of mine once told me a philosophy of his was to “do for others what he wished he had done for him.” I’ve also tried to live that way in my life and ministry. For Joshua, though, I think he was able to do exactly what was done for him.

What about you? Were you flung into a leadership role, or did you find yourself as successor of an established ministry or organization? Did you have someone pouring into you and preparing you for the leadership role you now find yourself in, or did necessity place you there?

Whatever the case for Joshua, or you and I for that matter, we lead on. However, I think one of the most intriguing things about the leadership of Joshua is his longevity.

From Deuteronomy 31, where we saw Joshua appointed to this leadership role until the end of the book of Joshua, probably more than forty years have passed. We can read through the stories rather quickly, but decades actually passed, and Joshua led well throughout that time. Sometimes goals just take longer than expected. It would be really easy to give up when things don’t come together for us in the time we’d like them to. I know I can allow myself to be discouraged when things don’t move at the pace I think they should.

Joshua 1:9 says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

I think Joshua had to come back to that a lot to lead as long as he did with all that he had to lead through. So I come back around to the question I asked earlier, what about you? What are you hanging onto with your leadership goals? Let’s look to lead like Joshua- courageously, boldly, and with longevity.

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash