“The LORD said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a capable man, and place your hands on his head. Make him stand in front of Eleazar the priest and the whole community, and there before them all proclaim him as your successor.”
Memory Verse: Proverbs 22:29 “Do you see any truly competent workers? They will serve kings rather than working for ordinary people.”
Today’s bible reading is one which has to be read in various translations to acquire deeper understanding. Pointing out a few, the New International Version describes Joshua as “A man in the spirit of leadership” The New Living Translation “A man who has the spirit in him”. The New King James Version and the Amplified Version says “A man in whom is in the spirit” and finally the Goodnews Translation says “A capable man”. All these descriptions depicted by these translations head towards just one direction, Joshua was not a waste of space. He was a man who had high chances of being successful at everything he did because without being appointed, He was already prepared as a person.
After God informed Moses about cutting his journey short to the promise land, only God knew who the right person would be to replace him. Moses Himself was clueless so it was definitely sure that Joshua was just living his normal life and no one would have hinted him about God’s plan. As it remains a grey area, preparing himself ahead for successful leading of the Israelites into the promise land was out of the question. Joshua just lived each day leading to his appointment as usual, but while at that, he was a disciplined and a ready man!
Joshua was already filled with the spirit of God and all he needed was the extra sauce of Moses laying hands on him and declaring him to the Israelites. Moses’ task was to transfer “more” anointing and hand over the Barton of leadership to Joshua for the children of Israel to recognise him as their successive leader. Having not done this, they may have struggled to accept him without Moses’ public declaration.
The reality of life today as individuals is that we desire so much to have things we are not prepared for. We spend time praying and fasting but fail to prepare and empower ourselves with the relevant skills toward achieving the next level in life. The prayer to acquire a car must require that you physically learn how to drive and use it not for just selfish reasons. Only then are you self-prepared to drive the car you are asking God for.
The similarities between Joshua, David, Joseph in their success stories was that they all had the spirit of God in them and were all actively preparing themselves towards greatness without realising it. When you pray for God’s mercy for propelling you to the next level, there are two basic questions to ask yourself;
1. Am I confident in my current stage?
2. How prepared am I for progression?
A child of God still being driven by the flesh when making their day to day life decisions may struggle if suddenly dropped in a pool of abundance. While we sometimes wrestle against spiritual forces Ephesians 6:12, other times we wrestle with ourselves without knowing it.
Your desire has to be in line with God’s plan. You cannot suddenly pledge to be faithful in a position of leadership if you have been unfaithful as a servant Luke16:10. Self- development might be all you need for doors to be open so whiles praying and waiting on your next move, find anything that develops you and do it diligently, Ecclesiastes 9:10a.
PRAYERS:
- Father I thank You for another wonderful day
- Thank you for your grace which is sufficient for me and all my loved ones
- Forgive my sins o Lord, remember not my wrongdoings
- Help me from today to daily better myself and prepare for great works
- Activate great skills in me and grant me wisdom and understanding to live a productive everyday life
Thank you for your blessings O Lord, in Jesus Name I pray, Amen.
