Joshua 5.14 observes, Joshua fell, face to the ground, and worshiped. He asked, What orders does my Master have for His servant?

When we encounter God our response to Him is simple, what would you have me to do? It’s not complicated really. He is God, our Creator, our Sustainer, the One Who brought us into His world and allows us to live upon it. If we chaff at this idea of responding to God humbly and obediently it is because we are poor in at least two areas.

First, we don’t know God. If the word Master in describing God seems harsh to us it is because we do not know His heart. God describes Himself as humble and gentle, seeking to make our burden easy and our load light. A popular Christian song now describes well His character: God is a good, good Father.

God wants what is best for His world including our formation into holy people so that we become holy as He is holy. This means sometimes our lives are hard, like the work in losing weight, but the result is for our good and His glory which also results in our good. Obedience to God brings us abundant life.

Second, we don’t understand who we truly are if responding to God as a servant is unseemly to us. We did not choose to enter this world, neither have we chosen our looks, abilities, or opportunities, even our lifetimes. Certainly hard work with the talents and opportunities we have been given has paid dividends if properly applied but only because God gave us this time and place to appropriate them.

We have no power. We have no real strength. We really can’t do anything of great significance of our own accord. We cannot stop the common cold nor the death that awaits every person.

No, while we are here on earth, we have one appropriate response to God Who placed us here, speak Lord, your servant is listening, what would You have me to do.