Joshua

By Alex Florez

Scripture Reading: Numbers 13:1-3, Numbers 14:5-10, Numbers 14:26-38; Joshua 1:1-9, Joshua 23:1-16

I’ve known lots of guys named Josh in my day, and three in particular are great examples of what God can do with time and trust.

One of them is a veritable home improvement wizard. He installed a subterranean gas line to heat his home in Minnesota like it was no big deal. Josh fearlessly faces challenges that make mere mortals like me wince with apprehension.

Another example is the phenomenally talented drummer, who toured with some of the biggest acts in Christian music. Josh wasn’t the headliner, but he was so incredible at what he did that all the heavy hitters wanted him in their lineup.

Currently, I work with a young man who is so bright, talented, and charismatic in his early twenties, there’s no telling what amazing things he’ll do for God’s kingdom in the future. Josh is a natural leader, born to connect with and encourage the people he serves.

To be sure, there’s no magic in the name itself, but my three friends all have a lot in common with their namesake, the Bible’s Joshua, who beautifully modeled courage, selfless service, and leadership. From the Jordan River to the walls of Jericho, Joshua son of Nun is one of the great figures of Scripture.

We immortalize him as a figure of unflappable courage, but in between the “greatest hits” of Joshua’s storied life, I bet fear crept in from time to time. When things were tough and the people complained about their circumstances, I imagine Joshua occasionally wanted to ditch Moses and start his own movement. Surely, the shadow of looming death would darken his soul as he beheld the enemy’s army stretched beyond the horizon. But God would assure him again and again: “Haven’t I commanded you: be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

I’m so encouraged when I picture Joshua’s human moments not recorded in Scripture, those times when he wasn’t being the Joshua—conqueror of cities, bane of the Canaanites. In his 110 years of life, he must have matured so much as he continued walking with the Lord in faith. He didn’t emerge from the womb a biblical hero; he became the Joshua after a lifetime of practicing the discipline of trusting in the strength of God rather than his own. As such, Joshua’s greatest legacy is not his war record but his dependence on the faithfulness and might of the living God.

Parents call their sons Joshua because they love the name, and, on some level, they hope their children will someday embody part of what made the “original” Joshua so great. But make no mistake: my three aforementioned friends—along with their namesake—are amazing humans not because of what it says on their birth certificates. It is because they have made it their primary objective in life to lean on the strength of God and to trust that He is with them always.

Written by Alex Florez