“Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to act in accordance with all the law that my servant Moses commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you may be successful wherever you go.  This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it.  For then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall be successful.” – Joshua 1: 7-8

In the book of Joshua, God provides a story of the successful life of integrity, as the Hebrews entered the Promised Land.  It would do us good as Christian lawyers to learn some of the same valuable lessons about having a successful life in the law. For the rest of 2015, we are sharing six lessons from Joshua.

Lesson #2 – Is God On Your Side?

After the army recovered and the people were ready for battle, Joshua looked up one day and saw a man in the camp with a drawn sword. He confronts him: “Are you one of us, or one of our adversaries?” The answer is a classic: “Neither; but as commander of the army of the Lord, I have now come.”

God is not on your side in your law practice. He is not “for” your financial success or your election to the school board. The answer to whether he is for us or against us is simply, “No.” He is here and he is in charge: “But as commander of the army of the Lord, I have now come.” Joshua falls on his face and takes off his shoes.

Where are we as lawyers on this issue? Are we doing stuff “for God”? Are we asking him to help us do what we want? God has work to do in our families, with our clients, in our offices, with the court personnel, with kids on the sports team we coach, or in the Sunday School class we teach. It is His work, and he is in charge.

Are we face down with our shoes off, or are urging God to follow our lead?  If we make sure we know whose agenda we are about every day, the pride, the temptation to power trips, the financial expectations will all diminish. That’s one reason that morning devotions are such a standard recommendation:  if we start with an exercise in submission to the One who is the commander of our life, we will be able to see the battles and struggles of the day in the light of his plans and get ours lined up accordingly.

We ought to make it a habit to figuratively take off our shoes every day as we enter our offices or classrooms, because the Commander is there, and He has work to do.

CLS Prayer

Lord, thank you for being in charge and calling me to Your work. Remind me to follow your lead and help me make time every day to submit to You. Amen.

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(Adapted from Redeeming Law by Michael Schutt)