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As young men it is easy to desire a place of ‘great’ responsibility or public recognition. However the Lord does not give lofty responsibilities to those who cannot first be faithful in the ‘little things’.
Joshua sets a great example for this, even in the first mention of him in Exodus chapter 17. The Israelites have just escaped Egypt and are making the difficult journey through the wilderness to mount Sinai. Suddenly a crisis hits the nation. This is both spiritual and physical. First they doubt God’s presence with them. Second, the Amalekites attack while the Israelites are camped at Rephidim.
In Israel's moment of crisis, Moses calls on Joshua to lead. He is given no introduction. All we know is that Moses trusts him to lead and there is no indication that people were shocked by Joshua’s appointment. He is clearly established as one who can be trusted and Moses is confident in leaving the army in his hands (Exodus 17:9).
The question is why? What made Joshua so trustworthy? Why was he so clearly ready for the task of leading the people into war?
What seems clear is that this was not Joshua’s first act of service. He had evidently been faithful in obscurity and so when the crisis came and success was vital, Moses had no fear in asking Joshua to lead.
There is an important lesson for us to learn here. God would have it that responsibility is entrusted to the most trustworthy, not to the most ambitious.
While ambition for the Lord in itself can be a good thing, it is so easily corrupted by pride and we can become like Diotrephes “who loveth to have the preeminence”. Selfish ambition at minimum is annoying and more seriously, it can tear a church apart. It must be avoided at all costs and when we find a trace of this self-exalting pride in ourselves we must kill it.
Authority may be involved in service but it is not the end goal. We should not be the sorts of guys who are out looking for positions of power. Yet, we should be the kind of men who can be trusted to lead. Joshua did not force himself into the role of commander but waited and was faithful in whatever he was called to do. He was known to be a trustworthy young man.
Like Joshua, our trustworthiness starts in obscurity as we faithfully serve God and his people in the ‘little’ things, doing all things “unto the Lord.”