Darell Houseton

There are moments when God calls us into something new, and we feel completely ready.

And then there are the other moments.

The ones when the opportunity seems bigger than our ability. The responsibility feels heavier than our experience. We know where God is asking us to go, but we’re not quite sure we’re the person who should be going there.

Joshua knew something about that feeling.

For forty years, Moses had led the people of Israel. Joshua had been there beside him. Serving, learning, and watching. Then Moses died.

Suddenly, the servant was being asked to lead.

God’s instruction to Joshua was clear:

“Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River.” — Joshua 1:2

Imagine the weight of those words.

Joshua wasn’t simply being given a new job. He was being asked to continue the work of Moses and lead an entire people into the land God had promised them.

Yet Joshua’s story reminds us of something important about the way God works in our lives:

**God calls us. God trains us. And God appoints us.**

1. Called

Joshua didn’t choose himself for this assignment.

**God called him.**

That distinction matters.

Joshua had spent years as Moses’ assistant. He had witnessed the victories, but he had also seen the frustrations. He knew firsthand how difficult these people could be to lead.

If Joshua felt inadequate for the assignment, it would have been understandable.

But God’s response wasn’t to convince Joshua that he was extraordinarily talented.

Instead, God promised him something better:

**“As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.” — Joshua 1:5**

The source of Joshua’s confidence wasn’t supposed to be Joshua.

It was supposed to be God.

We sometimes approach God’s calling backward. We look at an opportunity and immediately begin examining our qualifications.

*Am I talented enough?*

*Do I know enough?*

*Do I have enough experience?*

*What if somebody else could do it better?*

Those can be responsible questions, but they can also distract us from the most important question:

**Is God calling me?**

Romans 8 reminds us that God is at work in the lives of those who are “called according to his purpose.”

Our confidence doesn’t come from believing we can accomplish anything we choose. It comes from knowing that when God calls us, He doesn’t abandon us to figure it out alone.

And often, long before we recognize the calling, God has already begun preparing us for it.

## 2. Trained

Joshua’s preparation for leadership didn’t begin in Joshua 1.

It had been happening for years.

He served alongside Moses. He watched him lead. He learned what faithfulness looked like in difficult circumstances. He saw what happened when people obeyed God—and what happened when they didn’t.

Joshua was being trained for his future assignment while serving faithfully in his present one.

Think about a relay race.

Four runners may all be incredibly fast, but speed alone doesn’t win the race. One of the most important moments happens in a few short steps when one runner has to place the baton into the hand of the next.

A bad exchange can waste a great performance.

A dropped baton can end the race.

So teams practice the exchange again and again.

Joshua had spent years running alongside Moses before the baton was placed in his hand.

That’s often how God prepares us too.

We tend to notice the appointment because it is public. We notice when someone steps into leadership, begins a ministry, accepts a new responsibility or enters a new season.

What we don’t always see are the years of preparation that came first.

The conversations.

The mistakes.

The people God placed around them.

The small responsibilities.

The seasons of serving when nobody was watching.

We may even find ourselves wondering why God has us in a particular season when nothing significant seems to be happening.

But perhaps something significant **is** happening.

**Maybe you’re being trained.**

The place you’re serving today may be preparing you for somewhere you’ll be asked to serve tomorrow.

The challenge you’re facing may be developing something you’ll need later.

The person you’re learning from may be teaching you lessons you’ll eventually pass to someone else.

Joshua learned to lead because he had first learned to follow.

He could give instructions because he understood how to receive them.

And when the moment came for the baton to be passed, Joshua was ready to take it.

## 3. Appointed

Eventually, preparation has to become action.

God told Joshua repeatedly:

“Be strong and courageous.”

That phrase appears again and again in Joshua 1.

Why?

Perhaps because courage isn’t the absence of uncertainty. Courage is obedience despite it.

Joshua could have listed plenty of reasons he wasn’t Moses.

But God wasn’t asking Joshua to become Moses.

God was asking Joshua to become the person He had prepared Joshua to be.

There is tremendous freedom in understanding that.

You don’t need someone else’s gifts.

You don’t need someone else’s personality.

You don’t need someone else’s story.

You need a heart willing to listen when God speaks and obey when He sends.

Isaiah heard the Lord ask, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

His response was simple:

“Here am I. Send me!”

Joshua’s life demonstrated that same willingness.

God called.

Joshua listened.

God prepared.

Joshua learned.

God appointed.

Joshua went.

And that same pattern continues in the lives of God’s people today.

Your Calling May Look Different

Not everyone is called to stand behind a pulpit.

Not everyone is appointed to lead an organization or oversee a ministry.

But every follower of Jesus is called to faithfulness.

Your calling might be pouring into a young person who needs someone consistent in their life.

It might be serving your community.

It might be caring for your family.

It might be using your profession differently.

It might be forgiving someone.

It might be stepping into leadership.

It might be returning to something God placed on your heart years ago.

Or perhaps your next step isn’t an appointment at all.

Maybe you’re still being trained.

That’s okay.

Training isn’t wasted time.

Joshua spent decades preparing for the moment we read about in Joshua 1.

The question isn’t whether your assignment looks important to someone else.

The question is whether you are attentive to God’s voice and obedient to His leading.

God Can Use You

One of the easiest mistakes we can make is believing God uses extraordinary people while the rest of us simply watch.

Scripture tells a very different story.

Again and again, God works through imperfect people.

People with complicated histories.

People who failed.

People who doubted.

People who didn’t think they were ready.

People who needed grace.

God’s ability to use a person has never depended upon that person’s ability to present a flawless résumé.

It depends upon His grace and our willingness to surrender ourselves to Him.

Joshua wasn’t asked to lead because he had become perfect.

He was asked to lead because God had called him, prepared him and promised to go with him.

The same God is still at work today.

So perhaps the question isn’t:

“Am I qualified enough for God to use me?”

Perhaps the better questions are:

Where is God calling me?

What is God teaching me?

And where is He asking me to go?

You may be in the calling.

You may be in the training.

You may be standing at the edge of the appointment.

Wherever you are, the promise that carried Joshua forward still matters:

God goes with His people.

So listen.

Learn.

And when God says go—

“…be strong and courageous” enough to take the next step.