Rising up to your Calling

Firstly I just want to thank a good friend of mine, Lawrence Yeo for reminding me to read this Scripture, without which today’s blog wouldn’t have been written.

 

I want to share with you two things that will help you to rise up in your Calling from the Lord, and we’re going to look at the story of a famous leader of Israel.

 

After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, it came to pass that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: ² “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. ³ Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. ⁴ From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. – Joshua 1:1-4

 

Here begins the ministry of Joshua the son of Nun, who after the death of Moses, was tasked to lead a nation of Israelites across the wilderness and into the promised land that God had prepared for them.

Joshua being with Moses since day one of the signs and wonders that Yahweh the LORD had worked in Egypt, he knew the stubbornness and rebelliousness of this people. And to make matters worse, getting through the wilderness was not going to be an easy task either.

 

But God, who sees the future as though it were the past (Joshua 1:3), gave Joshua an encounter that set his path for the rest of his years of leadership over Israel.

 

No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. – Joshua 1:5

Here we see the Lord reassuring Joshua that he would never have to walk alone. And hearing the Lord promising Joshua of the same presence that followed Moses was not something to be taken lightly, when we look back at the mighty miracles that God performed through Moses!

 

But there are times in our lives that guilt and fear comes in, and we start to doubt whether God’s promises are still valid for your life, but let’s look at the Lord’s response to that:

Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. – Joshua 1:6

God NEVER forgets His promises, and though we may not always be faithful, HE REMAINS FAITHFUL!

 

However, God still has one condition that we have to meet:

 

Be strong and of good courage… ⁷ Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. – Joshua 1:6-7

The words “that you may observe” in the original Hebrew texts reads as “shä·mar”, which is a verb translated as “to keep, guard, observe, give heed”, with some translations quoting “keep watch and ward, protect, save life.”

That is how much priority the Lord expects us to give to His Word!

 

Next Verse:

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make YOUR way prosperous, and then you will have good success. – Joshua 1:8

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1. Never stop speaking the Word

Confess it daily, over your lives, your family, your finances, whatever it may be that involves your time and attention each day, speak the Word of God over it!

2. Always dwell in the Word

Even in times of trials and tribulations, Psalm 37:8 tells us never to fret! Dwell in the land of the Anointing, feed upon the Word of God and HE will bless you in even at the lowest point of your life (Ps 37:3-4).

 

You can chase after wealth and riches by your own might, and yes, you will find it, but it will either never last, or it will last and bear the wrong fruits in your life. Verse 8 doesn’t just talk about prosperity, it talks about having good success.

Proverbs 10:22 tells us that the blessing of the LORD makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it. That is the kind of success that only God can bring into our lives, when we are diligent to seek Him in His Word.

 

So what does all this have to do with rising up to your calling?!

Final three verses for today:

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9

God simply reminds Joshua of what He said in versus 5, 6 and 7, and throughout the last nine versus, God mentioned three times, “be strong and be of good courage” or “very courageous” in the case of Verse 7, and this is really what God is like to us – God is our biggest cheerleader.

He is always there to encourage you, lift your spirits up and to keep cheering you on, to get to the destiny which He has purposed for you even before the beginning of time.

 

And this is how the first chapter of this story ends:

Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, ¹¹ “Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess.’” – Joshua 1:10-11

 

Joshua rose up as commander in chief in place of Moses, and his first words to the nation of Israel was to remind them of what God had promised.

And I pray that you will find the same strength that Joshua found in the Lord, and as you keep dwelling in His Word and living it in your daily life, may you rise up to your calling as well.

 

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