Listen, Lead, Leave

"Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before..." (Joshua 3:4)

Moses was now dead. Joshua was now the servant of the Lord that would lead the Israelites across the Jordan. The Lord told Joshua to be strong and courageous because he would lead the people to inherit the land he promised to their forefathers to give them. As I was reading this passage of scripture this morning I couldn't help but realize that in order for the Israelites to inherit the land, "the promises of God", three things had to happen. There had to be a listening, a leading, and a leaving.

Joshua, first, had to listen to the voice of God. In order for the Israelites to receive the blessings of God and the promises of God, Joshua had to have an open ear and an open spirit to what God was telling him. I believe that in our individual lives we have to do the same thing. Are we preoccupied with other things in our lives that drown out the voice of God? Are we wrapped up in listening to other people, wrapped up in technology, internet, etc... and are not really giving "ear" to God? In order for us as Christians to go where God has promised us to go, we have to first listen to what he is telling us.

Secondly, Joshua had to lead the Israelites into the promise and plan that God had for them. Joshua couldn't do this on his own, so he had to gather some people around him to be put into leadership positions to help facilitate the process. The Priests, which were Levites, were in some part in a leadership position (carrying the ark of God before the Israelites) and they had to submit to the leadership of Joshua and trust that he was hearing from God and in turn they had to follow his lead. I like to believe that the Priests, in submitting to the leadership set before them, was finding themselves to be leaders. Isn't that what Christianity is all about? Submitting to God's authority and  letting Him teach us how to lead someone else to the Kingdom.

Thirdly, the Israelites had to leave the stationary position they were in and to travel some unfamilar territory. I wonder what it must have felt like to cross that Jordan River? In order to receive the promise of God they had to trust in the leadership of Almighty God! We sometimes want to hold back and see what's going to happen and then if everything turns out ok then we are eager to join in. What if the Priests had done that very thing? I don't think the Israelites would have received the promise. What if the Israelites had held back to watch? Think they would be out of luck also! What if Joshua wouldn't have listened to who was leading him? Could have been a mess!

To sum up what I believe God is telling me, we have to be able to listen, lead, and leave when it comes to doing the will of God. Whatever end of the spectrum we find ourselves (leader or follower) we have to learn to trust in what God has promised and set before us.