Joshua 19:50 –
For the LORD had said he could have any town he wanted. He chose Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. He rebuilt the town and lived there.
Notice Joshua did not take the easy city or beach front property. No he took a town in the hills that needed to be rebuilt. Think about this he is 85, not 45 and he decided to live in a place that needed a ton of work. Joshua is a living example of diligence for the Israelites. They knew he could have taken the easy way and taken any town he desired, and he went the way of work.
Now I am not familiar with the lands or the towns and wonder if Timnath-serah had a great view or had some awesome farm land associated with it. From what it sounds, there really is not a bad part of the Promised Land, but was it choice lands that needed work or did Joshua leave the best for others? Either way they all could see he was ready to work and do what was necessary to get what he wanted.
This is a great example of life and what’s involved. Oh how we so often pray for a lottery win or some easy windfall to save the day. I wonder how many times we have gotten an answer to our prayers and we ignored it because it was going to require a ton of work? I think of many lost opportunities because I was looking for an easy win or having it all at once. My first BIG mistake was not savings early on for retirement. I always figured it would happen big and I did not need to sacrifice in my youth for treasures in retirement. Now I am struggling to keep my “empire” afloat because the is no capital to fall back on.
If I had followed the 10/10/80 formula from day one as I get older my “windfall” would be not from a lottery win or a huge bonus, but from hard work and savings. The 10/10/80 formula is simple, give 10% away in a tithe or donations to a worthy cause. Always give to have compassion for others. Save 10% for a “rainy day” and then live off 80%. It’s a very simple formula for life. Right now I am inverted at 10/80/10, where the 80% is not saving but just trying to get out of debt where I was living on more like 120%. Hence the rule “spend less than you make and keep doing it.” Learn from Joshua and work hard for the long haul and don’t expect money to just flow down from heaven. Just because they were given the Promised Land didn’t mean they didn’t have to work for it!