Linger Longer

When Moses was still alive, Joshua was not really a superstar amongst the Israelites. As in fact, in many of the early references to Joshua, we read that he was called the servant of Moses (Exo 24:13, Numbers 11:28, Joshua 1:1).  In his youth, Joshua was not one of the leaders of Israel, nor did he come from a priestly family.  He did not look like a promising leader. In modern terminology, we could say that he was not an associate pastor or a son of a pastor. Joshua was like a ministry member whom God chose to promote and make the next senior pastor!  Even Moses did not realize that Joshua was God’s choice to be the next leader until the Lord showed this to him near the end of his life (Numbers 27:15-21).

But what happened to Joshua? How did he become the successful leader of God’s people? It was because Joshua caught the anointing that he needed in leading the Israelites into the Promised Land.

As seen from the passage above, he began to gain the anointing as he developed his OWN relationship with the Lord – when Moses, the one who spoke with God face to face, was done communing in the tabernacle or the Tent of Meeting, Joshua would stay even longer.  Imagine how long Moses must have already spent time with God, yet his spiritual son, Joshua, would linger longer because he had desired to know, to seek the face of God on his own. Joshua learned to wait upon the Lord  and to draw near to Him; he wanted to develop the same intimate relationship with God that Moses already had.

Kapatid, kamusta ang personal prayer and worship life natin? Yung behind closed doors, kamusta secret place natin with God? Attending corporate worship, life groups, seminars, classes, etc. are all important.  But what happens in the secret place ang talagang nagbibigay buhay sa atin, ang nagpapalakas tuwing nanghihina, at nagbibigay kapayapaan tuwing nag-aalala tayong mga anak ng Diyos.   Let us bear in mind that all our natural talents and abilities will be useless if the Holy Spirit is not working in and through our lives to accomplish the works of God.  Spend time in the tabernacle first bago ang lahat, stay in the presence, linger longer everyday, that the full armor of God may be strengthened and renewed, and that you may be ready to stand and fight your battles sa bawat araw na kakaharapin mo.