sooo, this past weekend i was hanging out with the covey family down in ferrum, va…my family and i visited twin oaks baptist church on sunday…and i was ROCKED by a message from pastor terry…i had to go back and read the passage…and read the passage…and read the passage…i’m still reading over the passage!!!
he was speaking on joshua 5: 13-15…you can read through some of his notes here…
the part that really stuck out to me and that i’m still processing, is the response of the man standing there with sword in hand…mainly because of Who He states that He is…and then how He tells joshua that he’s neither a friend or a foe???
neither one!?!
joshua is leading the nation of israel at this point…God’s chosen people…they have done the whole 40 years in the wilderness thing…they are on a journey and have just crossed over the jordan river…they are following God’s lead as well as joshua’s lead at this point…not to mention the fact that all of the men had just gone through this medical procedure that God had instructed them to go through (you can read about that, at the beginning of chapter 5)…yet God is not on their side???
they were supposed to go conquer jericho…the biggest…strongest city of canaan…with this HUGE wall around it…they don’t have any weapons to speak of, or at least not weapons that can take down this wall or this city…and then God tells joshua that He’s not on their side!!!
joshua’s response is HUGE…facing what most would see as a hopeless situation…he falls on his face and says, ok God i’m Yours…i’m doing whatever you have for me to do!!!
he didn’t whine…he didn’t run cry to all of his friends…he didn’t start blaming people…he placed his life in God’s hands and trusted Him…now that’s a leader!!!
but in my mind i have to ask why God would do this…and pastor terry hit on this BIG TIME…he said that God was showing joshua that it wasn’t about him…it wasn’t about the nation of isreal…it wasn’t about jericho…it was about GOD and HIS will being done!!!
i’m really focusing on this passage right now…on the implications that it has, not just for joshua, but for me as well…i know there are areas in my life that i have made about “me”…i have made life more about “my goals” or “my dreams” and less about God’s will…i can hear God telling me…
neither one!?!
Love you! What a great post. Thankful that you are listening to God and seeking Him out in every area of your life.
wow, that is a good break down, thanks so much for sharing, I pray that you and I will continue to listen daily to what God is telling us to do.. Glad you had a good time, LimaCC is glad your back