“After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: ‘Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them— to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot as I promised Moses.” – Joshua 1:1-3
It is always cool to hear the story of someone who started out with nothing and now has it all. We see this time and time again with movie stars, professional athletes, and CEOs. They came from nothing. They were poor, had no money, and had no great opportunities. But they beat the odds and became one of the greatest ever to do what they are doing.
This story is pretty similar to Joshua’s, the Old Testament character we talked about yesterday. Joshua was a slave. In fact, he was born a slave under Pharaoh in Egypt. He was born into bondage. He was a man that knew something about the lash of a whip. He knew what it was like to work in the brickfields. He was quite literally born a slave.
And yet, he became Moses’ successor. He was chosen by God to lead his people. Not only was he chosen by God to lead, but he was blessed by God and equipped by God to do what the Lord had chosen him to do.
Joshua 1:1-3 says, “…the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: ‘Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them— to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot as I promised Moses.”
God told Joshua that he was going to lead His people. This is the promise God had made to Abraham generations prior. And it was Joshua He was anointing to lead them there. Pretty amazing for a slave, right?
Maybe your story isn’t exactly like Joshua’s. Maybe you aren’t the epitome of the rags to riches story. But maybe you have made choices that have you in the “rags” stage of life. You aren’t where you wish you were. But that doesn’t mean you’re hopeless. God can turn your story around, just like He did with Joshua. He was a slave; he wasn’t “supposed to be here.”
Yet, God used him to fulfill a four-hundred-year-old promise. Just imagine what He can do for you!