“Serving Till The End”

I love the story of Joshua, a faithful follower of the Lord and a faithful lieutenant of Moses. He was a strong man of God who encouraged the Israelites to take the promised land despite the size and strength of the enemy: ”do not rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! …. the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!” (Num. 14:9) Yet the people did rebel and they spent the next 40 years in the wilderness.

Fast forward 40 years …..  Moses had died, and the Lord had chosen Joshua to lead the people into the Promised Land, exhorting him:  “ Be strong and of good courage; for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.” (Joshua 1:6)

At the end of the Book of Joshua, the people had taken the Promised Land and again Joshua strongly exhorts them to follow the Lord…. ending with “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” After all the years of serving the Lord, Joshua still had “fire in his belly”… he still was serving the Lord and calling everyone around him to do the same. Joshua was no longer a “young buck”, he was 110 years old… at the end of his life. “After these events, Joshua, son of Nun, servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. (Joshua 24:14-29)

Joshua is a great example of what it means to be a “Man of God”. Joshua didn’t just serve for a time, or when he was young and vigorous….. he served the Lord all the way to the end. Joshua is an example of “Finishing Strong”. At the very end of his days, he vigorously called on the People of Israel, proclaiming to all “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. And then he died.

I’ve been blessed to know a number of “Joshuas” in my life… men (and women) who served right until the end of their life….. helping and advising and serving and praying and loving…right until the end.  May each of us follow their wonderful examples …. serving until the end…. not wimping out because of the disappointments of life. May we exclaim with our last breath, “as for me and my house , we will serve the Lord.” And that would be very good news.