Joshua has been tapped by the Lord to lead Israel into the Promised Land. He apprenticed under Moses for 30 years. He’s had his own vision-calling. He directed spies into the Land to gain first-hand information. All this is wonderful training and preparation. Now the time has come to step out and go.
Every journey requires a first step. Faith requires action to be true faith.
With the order to move out, Joshua went from apprentice to leader, by God’s grace a faith-filled.
Joshua’s story reminded me of many times when faith in the Lord required me to step out and do something…leave engineering and go to seminary; accept a pastoral call in rural western PA, then suburban NJ, etc.; travel on mission trips to Nigeria; step into a classroom and teach seminary students; on and on the list goes. Add to these a myriad of small steps; calling a person based on what I believed was a prompting of the Spirit; giving sacrificial gifts at the nudge of the Lord…
Faith to be faith requires actions and every action requires a first step.
Looking back on my life, God doesn’t call us to act only once, every step of faith requires another and another. Joshua will take many faith steps in the coming chapters. I will have many more faith steps in my life.
At this point the urge to pray surfaced… my prompting is to pray for the strength and courage to take my next faith step…
Will you join me?
Oh, God, Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, to be Your man, Your follower I pray for courage and strength to step out in faith every time You ask. Show me Your way, Lord, and lead me on my journey of faith. May You receive all the honor and glory. Through Jesus, my Lord, I pray. Amen.
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