“Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, ‘Are you for us or for our enemies?’

‘Neither,’ he replied, ‘but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.’ Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, ‘What message does my Lord have for his servant?'” (Joshua 5:13-14)

Whether you’re a CEO, military general, political leader or ruler of a nation, there is always going to be someone higher and more powerful than you that you’ll ultimately answer to…

That’s God.

Joshua was the successor to Moses, God’s chosen servant and leader who would bring the Israelites into the Promised Land. He was well respected and loyally followed, and even in Chapter 3 the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.” In other words, Joshua was as high as you could go in terms of human ranking and position of leadership for their nation.

Yet we see in verses 13-14 that Joshua immediately humbled himself to the Lord out of holy fear, awe, and reverence. He had a heart of obedience and desired to hear and receive instruction from God, knowing that success didn’t lie within himself, but in the words of the Almighty.

God has likely positioned you to be a leader in some capacity, whether it’s within your family, amongst your friends, within your church or small group, on your sports team, in your academic group, or at your place of business. Regardless of where He has called you to lead, your direction should always be grounded in God’s Word and directed by His Spirit.

If we want to be prosperous and successful in the things that God has called us to, then we must be a leader like Joshua. We must walk in humility, have ears ready to listen, and not let God’s Word depart from us (Joshua 1:8).

We should not only claim that our faith is the foundation of our lives, but it should also be the foundation of how we lead and deal with others.