This year I turned 53 and I have to admit I am no longer a spring chicken. My knees hurt, my mind is not as sharp as it used to be and it seems that each week I discover some new pain or ailment! I know that 53 is not really that old, but I often look back on that “kid” who came to Africa for the first time in 1997. I had a lot of big plans and big ideas and I wanted Jesus to change the world through me. After a while, you realize that the vision of God is bigger than just the part that you play in it. The thing I love about getting older is that the older I get the more I realize how dependent I am on God and the more I realize that I am not the only one who is faithfully serving him.
That is pretty much the theme of this passage in Joshua. Moses led the people to the promised land and even led them during the battles West of the Jordan. Yet, he was not the one who took them across the river, Joshua had to do that. However, 11:15 says, “Just as the LORD had commanded his servant Moses, Moses commanded Joshua. That is what Joshua did, leaving nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses.” Joshua didn’t just do his own “new” thing, but he picked up the torch from Moses and carried on with God’s plan. By chapter 13 it says that now Joshua was old and advanced in age, but God commanded him to divide up the unconquered parts and the Lord would use others to drive the people out before Israel.
Then we see Caleb in chapter 14 at age 85 proclaiming, “I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. My strength for battle and for daily tasks is now as it was then.” Oh, to be a Caleb who apparently didn’t feel his age until all his work was done! Still, he played his part in conquering the land and fulfilling the vision that God had given them. We often focus on the leader, but we must realize that he is only as good as the ones who are following him (and I am sure the reverse is true as well). In the plan of God, everyone had a part. As a leader, God gives you a vision and a direction, but it is not all on your shoulders. In reality, it is on God’s shoulders and He uses many of us to fulfill His vision. Getting older, getting more dependent on others… that is a good thing because it helps you realize that it is not all about you.
