Good morning Y’all Joshua chapter 13.
Joshua was very old and God said to him there's still a lot of land to be taken over. God spoke to Moses his truth and used his voice to speak to people right up until Moses's death. After Moses, God chose Joshua and has spoken to him and used him as a leader over the Israelites. God says to Joshua you're very old but we're not done.
You might retire from your job but you never retire from serving the lord. Circumstances in life might change as you get older but never become lax in serving the Lord. Always always always always always always always always always always have an open serving heart to be used by God to touch and impact lives for the kingdom. Never quit studying. Never quit learning God's word and Truth. Always let God equip you for new ministry opportunities.
To be honest, new ministry opportunities are scary and tough. It means a time of new learning and being stretched which means feeling overwhelmed, feeling inadequate but realizing the need to rely ever so much more on the Lord. Lord, I never want to quit serving you! Help me serve you right up until death. In Jesus’s name amen!
We read in Chapter 13 about Israel’s inheritance and how the land would be divided up. Joshua is told that he’s old, but there’s still much to do. Joshua and Caleb were the oldest ones among the Israelites since the rest of the people who were their age had all died on the other side of the Jordan River. I wonder how that felt to be the only two left from their generation. It seems to me that Joshua was well-respected by the younger people from what we have seen so far. Moses wasn’t always shown the proper respect by all of the people with some of the difficulties that he had to experience. I think that both Moses and Joshua probably felt like shepherds and even at times like fathers to the people who they were leading.
Here’s what we are told in Proverbs 23:22. “Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.”
One things I’ve noticed about the people in my life who are growing older, especially the ones in their 70’s, 80’s and even a few in their 90’s, is that the more active they are- up and moving around, the better their health. The people who are up and working in the kitchen all day, cleaning throughout, staying busy, gardening, cooking, etc. are the ones who are thriving, even in old age. It’s the people who are more sedentary, maybe watching a lot of shows or staying in bed, they physically and often mentally aren’t doing so good. Now this isn’t always the case, and for some being active isn’t a luxury they have anymore and are bed ridden… but for those that are aging, that constant movement is keeping them young and in good health.
I think this can be applied to our spiritual life as well. The more we pray, are in the word, speak about our faith, fellowship with others, the healthier our spiritual life is. If we make habits in our life that grow our faith and keep our spirits active, even when we grow old we will hold those habits close and live them. It is when we start to get complacent, sedentary, and lazy in our faith life that we start to lose it… there is the old saying, if you don’t use it, you lose it!
Joshua May have been old, but his faith was still very much active and healthy for the Lord.