Leadership lessons from Joshua

Then Joshua said to the people "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you."One quality accepted of a leader is to motivate his or her people before a great battle, game, or mission. Usually it is at this point that the people get their inspiration to endure the fight until the end.

The leader often through speech or action is called upon to put into context the follower’s purpose and to clarify their role in history. This is a common pattern played out in Hollywood. Whether it is 300, Troy, Kingdom of Heaven, or Brave heart the speech always precedes the battle. However, this is not the case when it comes to battle preparation for God’s Kingdom.

Not only do we not see a speech to inspire the people of God on to victory, but Joshua tells the people to “Consecrate” themselves before they even begin the fight That’s pretty anticlimactic.

Where is their inspiration to come from? Where is their motivation to come from? Why Isn’t Joshua standing in the middle of the River Jordan and declaring to the people of God to “Posses the land for it is yours…” No, you do not get any of that here. But, what you do get is this. Joshua the Kingdom leader tells his people that God would be among them and that He would work miracles). And, as a result of God being with them they were required to separate themselves from that which defiles and give them entirely to God. Joshua is conveying that God’s presence among the people would be all the inspiration and motivation they needed to endure until the end. The truth the Hebrews had to understand was that with God they would defeat every foe and win every battle.

However, because God would be among the people they were required to live above defilement in order that he might remain with them. Even though the Kingdom leader may at times have to inspire the people of God to continue on, it is ultimately the Kingdom leader’s job to remind the people of God to live above reproach and that God himself is the ultimate motivation to go forward in faith—even before a war. A leader who can motivate his or her people before a great battle, game, or mission is valuable, but a Kingdom leader who can remind the people to live above reproach and who can put the focus on God is priceless.

By: Anthony Bass