In Joshua 1:5 the Lord had promised to be with Joshua just as He had been with Moses. If you read the bible and note the different ways the Lord appeared to people you will find that:
•To Abraham the pilgrim, the Lord came as a traveler to share in a friendly meal (Gen. 18:1-8).
•To Jacob the schemer, He came as a wrestler to bring him to the place of submission (32:24-32).
•To Daniel three Hebrew men met Him as their companion in the furnace of fire (Dan. 3:25)
•And with Joshua He met him as the Captain of the Lord’s armies.
What do we learn from these encounters with our Lord? Well He always comes to us when we need Him and in the way we need Him. Warren Wiersbe said, “In Christian ministry great public victories are won in private as leaders submit to the Lord and receive their directions from Him.”
Chinese Bible teacher Watchman Nee wrote, “Not until we take the place of a servant can He take His place as Lord.” Joshua was reminded that he was second in command. In a meeting with a small group of missionaries in China, James Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission reminded them that there were three ways to do God’s work:
1. To make the best plans we can and hope they succeed.
2. To make our own plans and ask God to bless them.
3. To ask God for His plans and then do what He tells us to do.
Robert Murray McCheyne wrote; “It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus. A holy servant is a powerful weapon in the hand of God.”