Leaving Nothing Undone
As the Lord commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses. Joshua 11:15 (KJV)
No matter what version or translation I read this verse in, it clearly says the same thing: Joshua followed instructions and did everything he was told to do. What a wonderful thing to have said about you in the pages of Scripture. There is no higher praise than to have the Lord say in His Word that you were obedient in all you were given to complete.
This verse tells us a few things about Joshua.
He was organized. Joshua was responsible for leading an entire nation into the promised land. Obviously, that entailed a lot of things to keep track of. Joshua could not have led successfully if he was sloppy and disorganized.
He was dilgent and disciplined. Procrastination is the mortal enemy of success. Joshua had to be on top of the things he was instructed to do and he had to follow through with each thing he started.
He refused to fear because he believed God. One of the most frequently quoted verses from the book of Joshua comes from Joshua 1:9, “Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” Joshua believed what God said and, as a result, he did not yield to fear. Instead, he conquered the enemies he was sent to conquer and took the land he was told to take.
There were more things we could draw from this verse, but if we focus on these three, it would be plenty for us. I am sure we could all grow in one or more of these areas. Whether we need to become more organized, develop more discipline, or overcome the spirit of fear, there is work to be done in each of our lives.
Organization.
To become more organized, we can purchase all sorts of storage containers and other tools for setting things in order. However, the key is to use them and to continue using them. Sometimes it helps to bring order to our lives one section at a time. Maybe it means starting with how you organize your time. Using a calendar app or planner is a good way to begin. Once you have that part of your life under control, then you can go to the next area, maybe organizing your finances, or your desk, or whatever. Taking it one area at a time keeps it from becoming overwhelming. When we have things organized, it makes it easier for us to do what we need to do.
Diligence and Discipline.
What separates a disciplined person from one who is not? Disciplined people will not allow themselves to make excuses. They make a decision and they are firm in doing what they decided. They don’t talk themselves out of something or tell themselves that a task will wait until later. It’s a matter of being committed to something, and that means we watch our thoughts and weed out the thoughts that will convince us to do something other than what we committed to do.
Fearlessness.
Fear is an evil spirit. It is not a feeling, although he uses feelings to influence us. To overcome fear, we first must become convinced that God loves us. Perfect love casts out fear, so when we know we are loved by God and we believe He will not allow anything to happen that He cannot get us through, fear loses its hold. To become fully persuaded that God loves you, spend time in the Word of God and focus on all the good things He has promised you because He loves you. Fear is based in death and Jesus conquered death, hell and the grave- so fear has been defeated by Jesus. We can reject the spirit of fear and send him packing by believing the Word and using our authority in the name of Jesus.
We can be like Joshua and we can receive the same commendation that he did. We can do all that we were instructed to do, and one day we will hear the Lord tell us the words we long to hear.
His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. Matthew 25:21 (KJV)
