Daily Devotional for Monday, August 29

Indwelt by the Spirit

The idea of electing those who lead us is a fairly new development in human history. For most of that history leaders themselves would select the one who was to follow them. This is what we see here; by God’s direction Moses had selected Joshua to follow him as leader of the Israelites, and God was giving Moses direction on how to present Joshua to the people. 

We see early in Scripture that Joshua was a special man. We can recall that he and Caleb were the only two spies sent into Canaan who came back with a good report and were willing to enter the Promised Land. Joshua trusted God and it seems that Joshua had a spirit that was inclined toward believing and being obedient to God. We can probably assume that the Spirit here also refers to Joshua being indwelt by the Holy Spirit who emboldened and empowered Joshua to do what God asked of him. 

What made Joshua so special? Was Joshua somehow different or more special than other men? The answer is both yes and no. Like most of us, Joshua was just a man like any other, yet he rose to a level most of us never will. What made the difference? Initially, the difference between Joshua and others was simply his willingness to believe in God, trust God and follow God’s leadership and empowerment. Later, we see that God did empower him to do great things. 

There is a Joshua in all of us. Because God provides the ability to do great things, and not ourselves. Like Joshua, the starting point is our willingness to believe and follow God. If we do that God will do the rest!

JUST A THOUGHT: As the saying goes: God does not call the equipped, but He equips the called.

Wally Fry