Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” -Joshua 1:9 NIV
It's so easy to think our time of worth has evaporated, that we no longer have anything to offer, that our days of service have passed us by while we were busy earning a living, raising children, or taking care of our responsibilities. But that is not the case, just as it was not the case with Joshua. Hoshea, as he was originally called, son of Nun, from the tribe of Ephraim, dutifully followed Moses. For over forty years, he was by Moses' side. He watched as Moses ascended the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments from God, he waited behind in the tabernacle after Moses communed with God to bask in the glory, he spied out the land and came back with a favorable report. It was at that time, that Hoshea's name which meant 'Salvation', was changed to Joshua which means 'God is Salvation'. Was that the purpose of all of Joshua's years of waiting in the wings, all the years of not being in the forefront? Was it so that he would learn that salvation comes only through God? Was it so that he would learn that anything that is undertaken has no power unless the power comes from God? Was that so he would learn that strength and courage, true strength and true courage, is a result of total dependence on God. Was the waiting a means to dispel terror rather than to promote it? Were the long days of following, of being obedient and subservient, the path away from discouragement? If so, perhaps some of us need to re-evaluate our lives and see that the years that have passed us by have not been in vain. They have been building us into someone ready to possess the promised land.
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