Cesar Milan, the dog whisperer is always saying that the way to get a dog under control is to make sure they are in a “calm, submissive state”. That sounds to me like what I see in most Christians, even more so in Church leaders. We are calm and submissive. That’s what makes everybody love us. And that is our goal, right, to make everyone happy?
Four Challenging Little Words
If you can’t tell I’m kidding, then read the first few lines of Joshua. In the opening nine verses God is telling Joshua that he is going to step up and take over for Moses. He’s giving him a mission. A very difficult mission. One that will require strength, faith, and lots of fighting. He is preparing Joshua for battle.
Interesting thing about this brief pre-battle encounter is that in only nine verses God repeats the following words three times.
“Be firm and steadfast…” ~ Joshua 1
This turned my conception of leadership, particularly Christian leadership, on it’s head. There is nothing warm or fuzzy about the Book of Joshua. It is a book of battle, of warfare, of conquest. Yet it is also a book of faith, hope, and trust. Joshua is a book about leadership.
How to Be Firm and Steadfast
I know I shouldn’t compare myself with the saints, but hey, it happens. Sometimes you can’t help it. In my experience, I tend to be anything but firm. Many times I have let fear take ahold of me, choking the life out of all that I hope to be as a leader. I am great at planning. I can strategize all day. It’s easy to play around with thoughts and theories. But when it comes to putting that plan into practice, if even one thing is out of place, I freeze. My whole plan has fallen apart and I am lost and alone and crying out for help, except for the fact that I am not actually saying anything.
So what does it mean to be firm and steadfast? A leader is firm when he doesn’t allow broken plans, tough situations, or unforeseen circumstances to hinder his influence over the flock. He is firm in faith.
Many times in the Gospel accounts, the Pharisees test Jesus. They try to set Him up by asking Him to answer trick questions. They put Him in a pickle by asking Him what He would do in a certain situation knowing full well that which ever answer He chooses will be cause for incrimination. What I love is that even when it seems Jesus is stuck, He always shocks the people with an answer and action that challenges and turns the tables on them—literally.
Jesus is also steadfast. He never waivers from His mission. He always does whatever it takes to achieve that which He was sent to do. He never gives up. We are often so quick to throw in the towel. We don’t know what to do. Jesus does whatever He is called to. We are worried about what people will think. Jesus makes people think. We are afraid of confrontation. Jesus turns over tables. We are afraid of conflict. Jesus rides into face death on a donkey. That’s firm and steadfast!
Pay Attention, It’s Important
Teachers always say that if they repeat something over and over, that’s because it’s probably important. And how many times did God tell Joshua to “be firm and steadfast”? Three times! So listen up, it must be important.
One for the Mission
“Be firm and steadfast, so that you may give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers I would give them.”
~ Joshua 1:6
In this first challenge God is giving Joshua his mission. He is making him a leader. Remember, God has promised them the land, but He didn’t say it was going to be free. They had to fight for it. They fought long. They fought hard. And trusting in the promise of God, they won. God is telling Joshua to trust in His promise, that He is true to His word. So to “be firm and steadfast” in this first instance is to know your mission and to trust that God who gave you the mission will help you to achieve it.
Two for the Road
“Above all, be firm and steadfast, taking care to observe the entire law which my servant Moses enjoined on you. Do not swerve from it either to the right or to the left, that you may succeed wherever you go.”
~ Joshua 1:7
God told him what to do and now how to do it. But He puts extreme importance on the “firm and steadfast”, as if to say “do it my way and it will all work out, trust me”. He makes it sound so easy, doesn’t He?
Three So You Know He’s Got it All Under Control
“I command you: be firm and steadfast! Do not fear or be dismayed, for the Lord, your God, is with you wherever you go.”
~ Joshua 1:9
It’s no longer a thought or a suggestion. It is a command. With an exclamation point! It doesn’t get much clearer than that. Yes, it will not be easy, in fact, it will be very difficult. But He is promising to be with him. He has promised to be with us. There is nothing to fear when God has our back. Daddy’s got everything under control. Don’t be afraid, “be firm and steadfast”.
A Leadership Prayer Inspired by Joshua
These four little words have really pierced me. I feel challenged. So I took a walk tonight and this is my new leadership prayer:
I reject any attempt by the world, the flesh, or the devil to make me fear, doubt, or believe that I am anything less than that which You created me to be, a saint, the best-version-of-myself, a man after Your own heart. And a man I am, because You made me so, that the world may know that I am nothing less.
I hold my head up high, not out of pride, but because of You alive in me. I am Your servant, Your temple, Your son. That’s why I live this day for You, to make my Father proud.
I demand respect for I am created in Your image and likeness, and I acknowledge you in all, especially the least of my brethren. I no longer live, but You live in me. I am not my own. I’ve been purchased at a price. I am a Christian, a disciple, a follower of Christ, who laid it all aside, who paid the ultimate price, just so I could know You as intimately as Him. I live this day and all the rest proving that it was worth it, that I was worth it, and all Your sons the same. That I may never grow tired, sick, or sorry to proclaim Your holy name in words and in deeds and everything I am, may I glorify You Lord, by being who I am.
My wife needs a husband. My sons need a father. Your people need a leader to bring them streams of living water, to take them to the Promised Land, to place them gently in Your hands.
I reject any agreements I’ve ever made in my head or my heart that I was shy, weak, unloved, unlovable, a failure, a fake. For I am a man of God. It is Your love that defines me. It is Your love that guides me. It is Your love inside me.
I ask that You will challenge me today to walk by faith and not by sight, to be a man of God and prove it by my life. Challenge me to step out of my comfort zone, to put out into the deep water, to take the narrow path, that less traveled. Challenge me to live what I believe so that I don’t come to believe what I live. Challenge me to take my faith seriously, to set my priorities right, to live the life of J.O.Y. Challenge me to live the Gospel, to practice what I preach.
I hold You to Your promises, so please hold me to mine. May grace abound within me to make my life divine. Make me firm. Make me steadfast. Make me all that I can be. Show me Your way and I will follow You to lead.
I place my faith in the Father, my hope in the Son, and my trust in the Spirit, O my God, three in one. Amen.
Do you consider yourself firm? Steadfast? What changes have you made or should you make to “be firm and steadfast” in your leadership?