I never met Old McDonald but I did grow up in a small farming community in America’s heartland where everything was centered on the growing cycle. We were a community of corn, soybeans, milk cows and hogs. It was all about planting in the spring, tending the crops and praying for rain in the summer and harvesting in the fall. Then most of the farmers took a vacation to some place warm as those were the days when 30 below was 30 below and wind chill was a yet to be bantered about term.
I was a town kid but my dad ran the Quaker Oats elevator and the International Harvester store. All my friends were farm kids and I spent a lot of time out in the field. I remember looking out on those fields around July with the corn towering over my head. I was overwhelmed at all the work that went into getting that corn planted, grown and finally picked and delivered to the elevator. Then it was on the train and out to where I wasn’t sure. And every year it was a challenge to get all that accomplished without any assurance the weather would cooperate. Even at that young age I remember years when there was little rain and the impact it had on the farmers and our town.
Their land held the promise but it didn’t come easy.
What got me on this course of thinking was reading the first chapter of Joshua last week. It was all about possessing the land – the very rich land – that God had promised Israel. I have read that chapter many times but this time through some notes in the margin that I made a long time ago grabbed my eye once again. And this time I saw something that got me to thinking about how God provided us a glimpse of his plan for our lives throughout the Old Testament.
Let’s see if that old refrain – EIEIO – can take on new meaning.
E – Encouragement
Josh 1:1-2 Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ minister, saying, 2. Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.
You wouldn’t think that the death of Moses would be very encouraging to Israel but put it in perspective. Forty years of wandering, waiting on a promise, an entire generation now long gone and now their beloved leader was dead. Not very encouraging! But at the very moment everything seemed lost, God showed His faithful hand of provision … now is the time – the land I promised is yours – just cross over – forget the past and face the future. That promise made long ago?
Gen 28:15 And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
Joshua had been Moses’ faithful minister and strong right arm for all those years and now God was promoting and blessing him with the fulfillment of His promise. Joshua had been faithful through all those years like the servant in Jesus’ parable:
Matt 25:20-21And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. 21. His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Have we been faithful where God has placed us, and serving under whom He has put over us? Have we been faithful with the gifts He has given us and used those gifts for the benefit of His people; His body? When it’s our turn to “cross over” will we hear those encouraging words – well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Like Joshua, each of us has been given a path to walk and everything we need to walk it out. Oh, we may not see all the tools and answers right now, but if we don’t lose faith in His promise they will be there when we need them. He is there to encourage us if we will but be faithful and take the time to listen. For 40 years Joshua was obedient and followed God’s plan for his life, and now he was ready to lead God’s people. And the first thing God did was to inspire him in his new role.
I – Inspiration
Josh 1:3-6 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. 4. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast. 5. There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. 6. Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
God knew, and I’m sure Joshua suspected, that Israel was going to continue to be a handful – even in the Promised Land. Joshua has now become “the” shepherd of the flock and immediately after encouraging him God is quick to inspire him to step up to the task.
God reiterates the promise He made and once again describes just how big the land is that He has given them. (It’s interesting if you look on a map – what He gave them was the majority of the Middle East; but that’s a discussion for another time.) But it’s in verses 5 that God provides the inspiration. As you step out Joshua, no man will be able to stand in front of you … why … because I will never fail to be there for you. That should ring a bell for us – here are a few to think about:
Rev 3:8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
1Jhn 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
Matt 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Heb 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
But if we, like Joshua, want to appropriate the promise we are going to have to exercise our faith. Look at verse 6a – Be strong and of a good courage. It’s going to take a strong faith to move in and possess what God has given us. And what’s the reason? Look at what God has put on Joshua’s plate in 6b. Not only does he have to lead the nation into a hostile land, he has to divide it up between them. The same people he has watched squabble, complain, whine and disobey God for the last 40 years; not to mention test the patience of Moses over and over again. He isn’t going to be able to be think about himself – he will have to trust God to take care of him because his task is looking out after the flock and it won’t be easy.
It’s the very same thing that Jesus has asked of us. Spend some time with Paul in his letters and see how much this weighed on his mind. Over and over he instructs us to “die to ourselves” and set aside our personal issues for God’s issues. And God’s issues are always about others. How do we do that?
Rom 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
Thinking! And that involves our mind; a mind that hasn’t been renewed. That’s a job for God’s grace, His Word and our commitment to it; back up one verse:
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
The only inspiration we need is going to be found in God’s Word. It’s all there for us to appropriate – let’s just be sure we pay attention to all the “buts” and “ifs” that it contains. And the Word also contains something else we need.
E – Energizing
It was going to be impossible for Joshua to accomplish the task before him without being energized and there was only one place he was going to find that:
Josh 1:7-8 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. 8. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe “to do according to all” that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
There is one key word that I marked in verse 8 that we shouldn’t let slip past us. I’m sure when God told Joshua “to do according to all” he didn’t have to stop and figure out what it meant. We have that same challenge set before us today:
James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
John 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
The Word of God is really the manifestation of God. It’s a manifestation of His love and if there was ever anything we need today it’s His love. I encourage you to do a word study on the love of God and see how much it lifts you up. Like … perfect love casts out all fear (1Jhn 4:18) … and that perfect love is our old friend agape; the God kind of love.
And look at the promise God gave to Joshua in the last part of verse 8 … thou shalt have good success. It’s interesting that the term taskiyl is only used in the Old Testament in this manner here in this verse. It means to deal wisely or guide wittingly. Joshua needed that big time and so do we in the world we live in. Think about those around you that look to you for guidance and direction … yes we need a lot of wisdom.
I – Incentivizing
Incentive is an interesting word. Webster defines it as something that incites or has a tendency to incite to determination or action … a motive.
Josh 1:9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Well I can’t think of a better incentive or motive than to be obedient to the commandment of God. But quickly notice that God doesn’t just command, He also provides. He is quick to assure Joshua the He will be there no matter where he goes. And if we want to fast forward a few thousand years He hasn’t changed His mind:
Matt 22:37-40 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38. This is the first and great commandment. 39. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 40. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Jesus made it pretty simple – everything hangs on these two commandments. I guess you could say that we have been pretty well incentivized, but are we optimistic?
O – Optimism
Being encouraged, inspired, energized and incentivized isn’t quite enough to get the job done. And that leaves us with the one task that God has left in our own hands.
Josh 1:10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying …
Joshua showed his optimism in what God had promised; he took immediate action to carry out what God had commanded. Without an optimistic attitude we aren’t going to get very far in life. Even the world understands that – their problem is that their optimism is placed in man and “man always fails.” But Joshua had all he needed:
- God’s commandment to him
- God’s promise that He would always be there with him
- God’s promise that if he followed God’s commandment he would have success
Is it any different for us? Has God changed?
No it isn’t and no He hasn’t. But we have to be optimistic just like Joshua. And God has certainly left us with enough assurances in His Word that we can. If you have any doubts about that just read Revelation. No it’s not a scary book if you simply read what Jesus gave to John. It not only tells us that the war is over but that we won. We all just have some battles ahead that we need to take care of. Oh, and one little thing to consider if you haven’t read Revelation:
Rev 1:3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
This is the only book in the Bible that carries that promise! But I digress. We’ll look more into that in the near future.
What has God asked you to do that you are hesitant to step out and accomplish? Are you waiting for “one more encouraging word?” Think about Joshua and how he responded to the first 9 verses in this chapter. He didn’t say a word but it was obvious he was listening. When you put it all together it’s really straight forward:
- God called Joshua to serve as a minister to Moses to train him.
- God promoted Joshua when he was ready; not before.
- God encouraged him after promoting him.
- God inspired him to step out after encouraging him.
- God energized him for the task ahead after he encouraged him.
- God gave him a reason to be optimistic about the eventual outcome.
Just go back to those 6 steps and substitute your name for Joshua’s. As we are faithful in God’s kingdom here on earth He will be faithful to promote us to bigger and more exciting tasks. But He will only step us up when we are ready; not when we think we are. It all depends upon how faithful we are with what He has given us where we are at the moment. And always – always – He will provide all that we need to accomplish the task at hand. And just to be sure that we remember His promise, His Spirit stands alongside us – we are never alone.
Now the optimism is left up to us. If we can’t find it in God’s Word then we haven’t been looking. Perhaps we’ve been spending too much time sitting on the porch and singing about Old McDonald’s farm … EIEIO!