Morning Devotion: Called Out

“Joshua, be strong and brave! You must lead these people so they can take the land that I promised their fathers I would give them. Be strong and brave. Be sure to obey all the teachings my servant Moses gave you. If you follow them exactly, you will be successful in everything you do. Always remember what is written in the Book of the Teachings. Study it day and night to be sure to obey everything that is written there. If you do this, you will be wise and successful in everything. Remember that I commanded you to be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid, because the Lord your God will be with you everywhere you go.” (Joshua 1:6-9 NCV)

"Joshua, be strong and brave!"

God knows us by name. He knows who we are, our hearts, our willingness to obey--even if we think we are lacking. When The Lord tells Joshua to "be strong and brave," it's no doubt because these are the areas he feels lacking in. (The Lord would have said something else if that were not the case.) Joshua struggles with self-doubt: he doesn't see himself as being a strong warrior--physically or spiritually. He doubts his own strength. And yet that's exactly where God wants Joshua. So Joshua will rely solely on the Lord's strength--because that's what it's going to take to accomplish the Plan. Joshua also struggles--or will, and God sees this and needs him to "get this" from the commissioning--with courage. Again, the things that Joshua has been Called Out to do will take a supernatural COURAGE to accomplish.

Today, too, God knows us personally, individually. He knows our NAME, He knows our area of struggle, of lack, of fear. He knows, too, what we are capable of with His help. (And the Bible says, in multiple places, that that is ANYTHING.) Today, too, these words resonate with those of us He Calls Out. "Be strong. Be brave." We have His strength in us when we walk after Him, when we follow His lead, when we allow Him to be GOD in our lives. And He gives us the COURAGE it takes to meet any foe--forces of darkness, ginormous mountains. He walks with us. He goes with us, before us. There's nothing to fear.

"You must lead these people so they can take the land that I promised their fathers I would give them."

We are Called Out to do a job--not because we are uber-wonderful--but because God is faithful to His plan. We are part of a Great Chain of God's Children. We are not the first generation. We are not the LEADERS of this family of God. We are a part of His Plan, we are generations in the making. He will use us to fulfill promises He has made to His children; He will use us to answer prayers and visions of those in former generations. We are PART OF THIS--it's much BIGGER than we are.

Those who are Called Out to lead a Movement of God TODAY will have to rely on The Lord. And they will have to be motivating enough and passionate enough to rally others to follow. Leaders are responsible for conveying the passion of the Vision to the faithful followers. Every single church, ideally, is a part of the Body of Christ waiting to be activated to Some Specific Part of God's Plan.

We have LAND to take. Have we really talked about this enough? Land? That's about POSSESSION, taking what the enemy has or has stolen. It means there are AREAS that God wants us to go into, to be brave and strong and TAKE with His Help. There is TERRITORY to be gotten. It's waiting for us to be ACTIVATED. It's waiting for the Leadership to Trust God for the Vision He has given them and to go forward. This is His Plan--not ours. And it has been part of His Plan for generations.

We are called out today--as both individuals and groups--to lead, to work together, to fulfill the Plan of God. This Plan has been envisioned by many before. What are Visions--through all generations, even our own!--but glimpses of His Precious Plan?

We are Called Out to fulfill the Plan of God for this generation. We must hear Him, trust Him, obey Him, and MOVE...