Taking Ground | Week 7
Day 3
“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” -Joshua 24:15
There comes a defining moment in every home when someone decides what kind of family this will be.
Not what it will look like on the outside.
Not how it will be perceived.
But what it will truly stand for.
Joshua stood before Israel and made a declaration that was personal before it was public: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
He did not wait for agreement.
He did not test the cultural winds.
He did not say, “If it’s convenient.”
He took responsibility.
Spiritual leadership in the home always begins with someone going first.
Generational Leadership
In Joshua 14:9, Caleb is told that the land he walked on would belong to him and to “your children forever, because you have followed the Lord wholeheartedly.”
Notice the connection: his obedience shaped his children’s future.
That is how spiritual leadership works. Your devotion today becomes your children’s inheritance tomorrow.
Fathers shape atmosphere. They model strength. They define what faith looks like inside a house.
This is not about perfection. It is about direction.
What It Means to Go First
Ephesians 5:25 calls husbands to love their wives “just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” That is sacrificial leadership. Not control. Not passivity. Sacrifice.
Ephesians 6:4 instructs fathers to bring children up in the “training and instruction of the Lord.” Deuteronomy 6:6–7 shows what that looks like—speaking of God’s Word in daily rhythms: when you sit at home, when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
Faith is not an event. It is a pattern.
Dad goes first in worship.
Dad goes first in repentance.
Dad goes first in forgiveness.
Dad goes first in generosity.
Dad goes first in serving.
If church is optional for you, it will become unnecessary for them.
If prayer is awkward for you, it will be absent for them.
If repentance is rare in you, humility will be rare in them.
But if they see you open Scripture, they learn reverence.
If they hear you apologize, they learn accountability.
If they watch you forgive, they learn grace.
Children are shaped by what is consistently modeled.
“As for Me”
Joshua began with “me.” Before he led his household, he surrendered himself.
Personal surrender precedes household influence.
Some fathers feel disqualified because of past mistakes. Maybe you were distant. Maybe you were distracted. Maybe you were harsh.
But legacy is not permanently defined by yesterday’s failures. It is shaped by today’s decisions.
You can begin again.
Caleb followed the Lord wholeheartedly, not halfway, not occasionally.
Wholehearted leadership does not mean having all the answers. It means consistently pointing your family to the One who does.
Quiet Faithfulness
Spiritual leadership is rarely loud. It is steady.
It is praying before meals.
It is showing up to church consistently.
It is turning off distractions to have meaningful conversations.
It is asking forgiveness when you speak too sharply.
Over time, those quiet acts form spiritual foundations.
If you want to take ground in your family, someone must go first.
Someone must say, “In this house, we will serve the Lord.”
Let it be you.
Not because you are perfect.
But because you are willing to follow God wholeheartedly, and trust that your obedience today will shape generations tomorrow.
