Ahead of God

When Joshua was old and well advanced in years, the Lord said to him, "You are very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over."

Joshua 13:1

I have a tendency to be very action oriented. When I was in a sales position, if I would sell an account, I would be eager to go find the next one. I even struggle with this in everyday life. I oftentimes feel like I need to be doing something. As a result, after I complete a task, I look for the next task to do rather than resting or relaxing. This occurs way more often than I would like to admit. Pretty unhealthy.

This week I read the above verse and it really hit me. I agree, it appears to be a pretty unremarkable verse, but God really used it to speak into my life. In chapter 12 of Joshua, we learn of all the kings (31 in all) that Joshua and the Israelites had defeated and the land they had taken. Yet in the verse above, we see that God comes to speak to Joshua, apparently many years later and says that there is more land to be taken.

I found this remarkable because, had I been in Joshua's shoes, as soon as we had conquered the 31st king, just like in my sales career and in my daily life, I would have said, "OK, where is number 32? Let's go get 'em!" And, I would have been out in front of God (which I have found I'm pretty good at at times!).

But that's obviously not what Joshua did. After they conquered the 31st king, he waited on the Lord. That doesn't mean he did nothing. It doesn't mean he was lazy. But it does mean that he didn't proceed with his conquering business until God told him to. What a great example!