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Joshua 13:1 "Now Joshua was old and advanced in years; and the Lord said to him, 'You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to be possessed.'" (I'm sure Joshua was grateful for a reminder from God that he was old and advanced in years!:) God goes on to require Joshua to apportion the land that remained to be conquered among the tribes of Israel without a full land allotment, and He promises that He will drive out the inhabitants of those lands. (Joshua 13:6-7)

 

I'm getting two things from this reading today: 1. I have a mission or purpose that God wants me to accomplish before I die; and 2. the accomplishment of that mission or purpose is not all on my shoulders, it is not all up to me. 

 

With regard to the first, I can sometimes be pursuing the wrong mission. I have a tendency to see something that I think needs to be done or corrected and take it upon myself to do so. But without proper discernment that is actually pride, and I have on occasion gotten myself deep into missions that God was not calling me to. So the first thing to do is talk to God, do some discernment, and let Him guide me to what He is actually asking me to do, while leaving to others the things He is calling them to do. There's a lot that needs to be done, and He knows just the people and the time to do it!

 

With regard to the second, when I take on these missions (whether God has called me to them or not, but let's assume for this paragraph they are the ones I am supposed to do), I often feel I must see them through completely and it is entirely up to me to do so. That is also pride. I am just one person in the vast expanse of history that God is asking to work on a small part of His Will. The tasks may be small enough that I can complete them on my own in my lifetime, but they also may not be. Either way is OK. As long as I am doing something God is asking me to do, to the best of my ability, while also being willing to share the load with others whom God has called to the task, that is all I have to do. He will accomplish the rest.

 

Joshua knew his mission and was doing it, but he came to the point at which he had to delegate and trust God and the people to finish it up. It remained part of his task to apportion the land that was yet to be conquered, rather than leading the conquests himself, so that's what he did. Joshua did not have the strength or stamina in his old age to lead the people in every battle, but he still had the wisdom and connection with God to direct and oversee, leaving the battles to others.

 

Not everything is my mission to accomplish nor my battle to fight, even in the missions that God has called me to. God is guiding other people in their missions as well, and I have to let them do what they have to do, while I see to the things that God wants me to do.