Pursuit of Purpose
The Joshua Spirit Part 1
Examining Joshua’s exploits in a contemporary light to extract practical applications in pursuit of Promised Purpose.
Key Applications
- You ‘Got’ Purpose
- Extract the lessons from Your 40’s
- Look Ahead
Many of you know Joshua was the fellow who was appointed to take Moses’ role as leader of the nation of Israel as they made their way out of the wilderness after wandering for forty years. This was no small mission, bringing 600,000 men of war including civilian men, women, children and a splattering of foreigners into hostile territory. It is estimated anywhere from 2 to 3 million people crossed the Jordan River into Canaan.
There was a reason, a purpose for Israel to settle in the land of Canaan. God could have sent them anywhere or allowed them to chose a land but he sent them there. After the spies reported how terrifying the inhabitants of the land were they probably wanted to settle elsewhere but Canaan was where purpose was promised and that was where they had to go to realize it.
The Calling
Prior to Joshua crossing the Jordan River, Moses sent Joshua and Caleb with ten other spies into the land to determine what sort of people lived there. Were they strong? Did they live in tents or fortified cities? Did they live in the plains or in mountainous terrain? What were their natural resources, their weaponry?
For 40 days the spies searched the land and returned to Moses with the news. Ten of the spies conveyed the land was in fact a land of “milk and honey”, a bountiful land full of vegetation, fruit and herded animals. However, they also relayed that all the goodness of the land did not compare to the giants that lived in the land; giants so large in stature that Israel’s army appeared to be grasshoppers in comparison!
While the anticipated joy of conquest succumbed to fear in the hearts of Israel, two other spies spoke out in protest of the bleak report. Joshua and Caleb both contended although much of what was said was true, they knew with God leading them they could take the land. They knew from experience God’s mighty interventions from the miracles in Egypt to the present time. They had watched an army of chariots fail in their pursuit of millions walking on foot. They drank water miraculously provided and had eaten manna that sustained them in the wilderness. So now what faced them in Canaan was no match for their God. Needless to say, the faithlessness of the ten caused them all to spend 38 more years wandering in the wilderness making it a 40 year pause between enslavement and Purpose.
Why are you here? You may have been born into a ‘perfect’ family; your course of life charted having all your needs met and finally settling into a self-gratifying career. You may have been born into a family where everything came hard if anything was achieved at all. You may have looked back at several junctures in your life and wondered “What for, why am I here? Why was I born?” This question must be important for there are many who ‘let go’ of their lives because they can no longer pinpoint the value of living. They move from living to existing, waiting for non-existence to materialize.
PURPOSE IS GIVEN, NOT CHOSEN
But there is good news. Everyone has a purpose. You are called to fulfill a role. It may not even be a role of your choosing. But the greatest plateau in life is to be cognizant of your innate talents and proficiencies and pursue their exploitation for the good of humankind.
Purpose is using your gifts in the right venue. 
A person’s purpose is a lot like the Promised Land was to Israel. Israel had the gift of having first hand experiences with God. Now they needed a place to settle down to allow that knowledge and those experiences to propagate the good news of the Living God into the known world. It was attainable, but it had to be sought after and fought for. Your purpose will require the same.
Remembering the Lessons of the 40s
In Biblical numerology the number 40 means trials, testing, probation or proving. Genesis gives an account of it raining 40 days and nights producing the Great Flood (Genesis 7). Israel wandered for 40 years in the wilderness (Numbers 14:33). Moses was 40 days and nights receiving the Ten Commandments (Exodus 34:28). The twelves spies searched Canaan for 40 days (Numbers 13:35). Kings Saul. David and Solomon ruled as king of Israel for 40 years each (Acts 13:21; 2 Samuel 5:4; 1 Kings 11:42, respectively). Jesus was tempted for 40 days (Matthew 4:1-2). In each of these instances there were times of despair and salvation. All are displays of war between the carnal and the spiritual. Each has spiritual, yet practical lessons interwoven that are vital for future success.
The lessons of the 40s is the time-frame in which God instills spiritual principles to prepare the subject or subjects for another dimension in their journey to Promised Purpose. This new dimension may operate to a different set of rules than previously known. However success on this journey is dependent on grasping and applying the principles learned in the 40s.
The 40s, spiritually speaking, may not be exactly 40 years, it is simply a time-frame for testing and proving. Joshua had his first 40 where he no doubt learned the lessons of survival while being enslaved by the Egyptians. Slavery brings its own cruelties but Joshua as well as 2 million other Jews survived until Moses appeared on the scene. Now once emancipated through the Red Sea and seeing Pharaoh’s army drown, there was a new sense of freedom they had never enjoyed previously.
But the wilderness brought another 40. Unlike the 40s of Egypt, there was no forced labor under the threat of severe punishment but the wilderness brought new and different trials and testing. There were hardships of hunger, thirst and wanderings. These hardships would test Israel’s willingness to follow God and the leader He had put in place as His mouthpiece. In its truest sense, it was obedience training. It was a time of obedience training until it could be replaced with trust in Him. Now Moses is dead and Joshua is chosen to step forward.
Again, your 40s may not be a 40-year period. It may be 8 years, 3 years, or 6 hard months. Your 40s is the time frame God needs to make you ready to cross your Jordan into your Purpose…the reason we are given life, the reason we are called to Christ.
We can see the progression of Purpose in Joshua’s life. The problem is we can’t always step outside ourselves and see the results of our 40s working toward Purpose. But they are. You would realize this if you would take the time and the pain to harvest the lessons of your 40s. It’s better to take the time to glean lessons than spend time in the future trying to repair the havoc that goes with reckless wander where the primary focus is constructing makeshift survival kits to live in the present reality rather than applying 40s wisdom to move beyond.
Looking Forward
God placed the weight of His Promise to Israel on Joshua. He had passed the test and had taken stock of his 40s. However, God was not going to leave him to rely on just his head knowledge, He promised to go with him as He was with Moses. With God’s command to go forward He also admonished Joshua to “Be strong and of good courage” several times in the first chapter of Joshua. The repetition of this admonishment alone implies there will be trouble ahead. One would think that there were years of suffering in Egypt, years of suffering in the wilderness, wasn’t that sufficient? I’ll answer this way. Although a good portion of the nation of Israel would eventually enjoy the fruits and rest in the Promised Land, there would be others who would sacrifice themselves so their children and children’s children would enjoy the freedoms they tearfully sought. Was it worth it for them? I would say so. I think if we consider our nation’s past we can find someone or a group of people who sacrificed themselves so we can enjoy certain freedoms. Even if we move from the national front we can find heroes in our own families who have given up or gone without so we can ‘have’. They were strong, of good courage and sacrificed themselves in some way for us. Do any regret their sacrifice? Would you, if you sacrificed for what you believed and for the people who believed in you?
We yet remain, and the admonishment remains the same. Be strong and of good courage. Why? Look forward. What is the Purpose you pursue? No one is an accident, everyone has a purpose. You are a piece in a master puzzle and the end result is glorious!
Whatever your promise, whatever your purpose, it requires strength and courage. Simply because there are obstacles without and within. Most times the obstacle within is fear and doubt. The first layer of the obstacle without is your inner circle, those that sit at your round table in your war room. Not everyone in your circle will sing your song. It would be nice to have one hundred percent support from those you love and the people that are an important part of making it happen. But that’s not how it goes at times. At least it won’t happen naturally. You have to do some personal recruitment and shifting.
In The Joshua Spirit Part 2, I’ll talk more about what you need to know before moving into Purpose. Before we go there, you must decide that where you are is no longer an option. After getting pass that point, we are ready to develop strategy. A strategy that identifies your Purpose, assesses the environment that surrounds your Purpose and the environment you bring with you as you pursue your Purpose.
Strategy? Seriously, does it call for that? Yes, it does because carelessness and the absence of a plan will cost you more than you want to pay. I’ll address strategy in the next article, The Joshua Spirit Part 2.
45 COMMENTS
What a blessing. If we as a people need anything it is to know what our purpose is in life. Not just what we want to do, but more of what God’s plan is for our life.
I see this as a great tool to enlighten
and equip the body of Christ and even others.
Knowing that we were created with purpose and that purpose is in the plan of God is a powerful awareness. Thank you for allowing God to use you in such a great way. Looking forward to more.
Excellent lesson: no more left to wander
Nice, I want to follow along and/or be notified when you post.
Beth, just sign up as a subscriber and you will be automatically notified when I post a new article. Thank you for taking the time to share a spiritual meal with me!
This was a great lesson about purpose. Your key applications great bullet points. Excellent points about the effects of faithlessness and forgetting of how easy the children of God forgot all that God had done for them. We are no different today. sometimes our hardships and trials test our willnessness to follow God as we journey in this life. I like the key applications statements. I like the explanation about your 40s God’s time frame needed to make you ready to cross into your purpose . not to let fear and doubt be an obstacle in your crossing. Great job.
I love your blog! CONGRATULATIONS on a job well done, even in its initial stages…for the courage to share your knowledge and thoughts with others. For anyone of us who may have forgotten, especially in times of trials and tribulations, that each of us have a specific purpose that will culminate in allowing the LOVE of God to SHINE!!! Anticipating your next installment…..Love, Regina
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