April 13 - Spiritual Leadership

It is amazing to watch Joshua when he became the leader of Israel. He was the one whom Moses laid hands on to succeed him and the Lord’s anointing was clearly on him. From today’s reading in the Book of Joshua, we may take a glimpse of how he exercised his leadership among the Israelites. The result was victories over the enemies and conquering of the Promised Land.

His leadership was more than political, religious, military or civil -- it was spiritual in nature. He led his people by letting God lead them. It was not about him or how great he was, it was about God leading the people through him. In so doing, Joshua accomplished a daunting task of leading the Israelites into Canaan. There are quite a number of qualities about Joshua that we may learn from. He really taught us to be a spiritual leader in the Kingdom of God.

Joshua was a diligent leader, more than once the scripture said: “Joshua rose early in the morning”. He knew what his priorities were and he did not procrastinate or avoid what he needed to do. He always did the most important task of the day in the beginning of the day instead of leaving it to the end of the day.

He also realized that victory was pending on their relationship with the Lord and not on his military strategy or might. Purging the camp after a defeat showed that his leadership was spiritual, not just analyzing the way they fought but how they had failed God in bringing in the failure. All spiritual leadership brings in the God factor instead of merely looking at the physical factors. Achan happened to be the evil he needed to purge and he did it.

Spiritual leaders go ahead of the people in battle. Joshua was not afraid of losing his life but went out ahead of his people to fight, with a javelin in his hand, and he sought the Lord on the timing of the battle. With his prayers, he later lengthened the day for the total defeat of his enemies. Upon victory, he led his people in offering sacrifices to God and in the building of an altar for such purpose. He copied and taught the law of God to ensure their obedience. Back in his mind, he knew that there were more battles ahead and the people needed to be prepared spiritually.

Are you in some kind of leadership? If you are leader in the church, are you leading them spiritually or with worldly leadership skills? Is your leadership a reflection of God’s leadership or you lead out of your own will? Are you experiencing victories or defeat? Have you ever analyze the causes for the defeats you suffered? Pause now to ask God to turn you into a spiritual leader. Remember, you are fighting for His Kingdom with His power and authority. Be a spiritual leader now.