Thursday Devotional - Strength and Encouragement from?

Where do you go to get strength and encouragement? Do you talk to a friend or sibling or parent? Or, do you talk to God first?

He’s the One Sovereign over all. He has all the answers and all wisdom. He’s watching over everything.

My parents and sister have had several health challenges recently that have been scary. Then, there have been some huge decisions made in a couple of the non-profit organizations where I’m involved. Some have been stressful and/or confusing.

As I was crying and praying, God reminded me of the verses my kids and I memorized a couple weeks ago.

Joshua 1:8-9 ⁸ Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. ⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

I don’t need to be afraid or discouraged. God is with me and will be with me wherever I go! He and His Word are to be my focus. As I meditate on His Word and listen to Him daily, He will provide the direction, strength, and encouragement He knows I need. He can do the same for you! Will you choose to daily spend time with God, learning His truths? Then, we will be better able to rely on His strength and recognize His presence!

Alice

Thursday Devotional - Battles a Blessing?

Do you think of battles as blessings? I don’t, certainly not while I’m going through the battle.

Joshua faced one battle after another. God could have rained down hail on all the Canaanites or had an earthquake swallow them up, but He didn’t. He chose to work through Joshua and the Israelites one battle at a time in order to give them the wonderful land He had promised.

Joshua 11:18-20 and 23     ¹⁸ Joshua waged war against all these kings for a long time. ¹⁹ Except for the Hivites living in Gibeon, not one city made a treaty of peace with the Israelites, who took them all in battle. ²⁰ For it was the Lord himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the Lord had commanded Moses…

²³ So Joshua took the entire land, just as the Lord had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions. Then the land had rest from war.

Not only did Joshua face one battle after another, by God’s design, but God had the enemies start the conflict! I’m not rejoicing when conflict arises, but God can use it to help us grow, mature, learn and experience the blessings He has for us on the other side!

What battle is going on in your and my life right now that God might be using to eventually bring blessings?

God had Joe and me battle infertility for about 9 years because He was paving the way for us to adopt James and Sarah! Plus, He had lots of ways for us to grow closer to Him and to each other through the struggles.

What battle has God blessed you through in the past?

Let’s remember these blessings as we face new battles.

Alice

Thursday Devotional - Easy Victories?

After the sun stood still, I think God used that to also give Joshua added confidence for all the next battles he would face. If God could stop the sun to help Joshua defeat enemies, then nothing was too difficult and no army too strong. 

Joshua 10:40-43 ⁴⁰ So Joshua subdued the whole region, including the hill country, the Negev, the western foothills and the mountain slopes, together with all their kings. He left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded. ⁴¹ Joshua subdued them from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza and from the whole region of Goshen to Gibeon. ⁴² All these kings and their lands Joshua conquered in one campaign, because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.

⁴³ Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.

God was the one who gave the victory to Joshua. Joshua did have to work and work hard, but God gave him the strength and help needed. God could have defeated all the Canaanites on His own, but He had Joshua and the Israelites participate for their own benefit and blessing.     

I’ve learned over the years to change the way I pray about some things. Instead of always asking God to fix this or do that, I often stop and ask for wisdom and direction to know how to be part of the solution. God wants to include us in His work. We grow and mature as we experience God’s help through challenges. As Joshua learned, we can learn to trust God, go to Him for help, rely on His strength, persevere to accomplish His purposes, and then experience the joy of God’s victories!!!

Where are you and I asking God for the easy way out? Let’s be like Joshua, willing to persevere and work hard, relying on God’s strength. God then let’s us share in His victories!!!

Alice

Thursday Devotional - Sun Stands Still

God created the sun, moon, earth and everything in the universe. He created it all, so He has the power to have things happen that don’t fit the natural laws. Did you know the sun stood still for an entire day?

Joshua 10:12-15      ¹² On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:

“Sun, stand still over Gibeon,
    and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”
¹³ So the sun stood still,
    and the moon stopped,
    till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,

as it is written in the Book of Jashar.

The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. ¹⁴ There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!

¹⁵ Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.

Last week God helped by throwing the Amorites into confusion and raining down large hailstones that killed more than the Israelites killed. I’m encouraged by so many details:

First, our forgiving and compassionate God helped Joshua (who didn’t even inquire of Him before making the treaty) help the deceptive Gibeonites!

Second, Joshua could have asked God to do lots of things besides stopping the sun. That meant he and his men had to keep fighting with no sleep after already marching all night the night before (Joshua 10:9). However, they got the blessing for participating!   

Third, I think the Holy Spirit (knowing it would bring the most glory to God in the situation) prompted Joshua to pray for the sun to stand still. As crazy as it seemed, Joshua did confidently pray it for all Israel to hear! They then witnessed God’s answer!

Fourth, not only did this show the Israelites, Gibeonites and Amorites that God was all-powerful, but the rest of the world would have experienced the phenomenon, too!

The more I think about it all, the more I’m in awe of God, His love, grace, forgiveness, compassion, personal involvement, power, might, and creativity! I’m challenged to boldly pray for things that will bring Him glory and ways I can participate in the solution.

How are you encouraged and challenged by this?

Alice

Thursday Devotional - God's Help Over Consequences

Last week we saw how Joshua upheld his oath, even though the Gibeonites deceived him into making a peace treaty. However, what do you think happens when the Gibeonites are attacked by the Amorites and ask Joshua for help?

Joshua 10:6-11        ⁶ The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us.”

⁷ So Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. ⁸ The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.”

⁹ After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. ¹⁰ The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. ¹¹ As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them, and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.

Not only does Joshua willingly help the Gibeonites, but God confirms Joshua is to help them and then God does most of the work!!! If I was Joshua, I might have told the Gibeonites that they were on their own. I might have thought God was bringing judgment on them for their deception. I would uphold my oath of a peace treaty, but nothing extra.

God clearly helped Joshua and the Israelites not only uphold their oath, but love their neighbor (without holding a grudge) by sacrificially helping them in crisis. Even though Joshua and the Israelites had made a big mistake in making a treaty with the Gibeonites, they obediently did the next right thing and the next right thing. God rewarded their steps of obedience despite their previous disobedience. 

God can do the same for us today. Even after making a big mistake, God wants to help us make the next right move. God is willing to help us in a mighty way, just like He did for Joshua! Where will you and I seek His help to make the next right step?   

Alice

Thursday Devotional - Upholding Oaths

Making decisions based on bad information or wrong assumptions can lead to big mistakes. It certainly did for Joshua, as we saw last week. However, what are we to do when we realize it after the fact? We aren’t to go back on our word, or sin again to try to fix it. We may have to live with the consequences.

After Joshua made a mistake by making a treaty with the Gibeonites, as we saw last week, he didn’t try to undo the treaty after he realized his mistake.

Joshua 9:16-21        Three days after they made the treaty with the Gibeonites, the Israelites heard that they were neighbors, living near them. ¹⁷ So the Israelites set out and on the third day came to their cities: Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath Jearim. ¹⁸ But the Israelites did not attack them, because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath to them by the Lord, the God of Israel.

The whole assembly grumbled against the leaders, ¹⁹ but all the leaders answered, “We have given them our oath by the Lord, the God of Israel, and we cannot touch them now. ²⁰ This is what we will do to them: We will let them live, so that God’s wrath will not fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them.” ²¹ They continued, “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers in the service of the whole assembly.” So the leaders’ promise to them was kept.

Even though the Gibeonites had been deceptive, it didn’t negate God’s expectation that Joshua and the Israelite leaders uphold their oath (which God confirms in Joshua 10 and II Samuel 21).

What about your and my unconditional oaths and promises? Whether they seem little (like promising to take a kid to a park) or big (like a marriage vow) or a typical contract with a customer (that doesn’t have a conditional clause), we’re to keep our promises. How well are you and I keeping our word? Is there something we said with which we still need to follow through or uphold, even if the other party did wrong?

Next week we’ll see how God is ready and willing to help us uphold our unconditional oaths, move forward in the midst of consequences from previous mistakes, and make the next right step.

Alice

Thursday Devotional - Relying on Our Understanding

Have you ever made a simple decision based on the information you knew, but later found out it wasn’t the right decision? Maybe you made assumptions that weren’t correct because you didn’t have ALL the information. I did that recently…

Earlier this year I had talks with James about getting his schoolwork done at school instead of goofing off and talking. He’s bright and quick and I knew he had plenty of time allotted to complete it. He eventually stopped bringing home 4 full pages of kindergarten homework! However, he continued to bring home 1 full page of math homework, which frustrated me (especially since he complained about having to do it after he got home). Instead of checking with the teacher, I kept blaming him, knowing it had to be his fault. Later, I found out the teacher intentionally sent home 1 full page of homework each day!!!  

Well, Joshua, too, made a decision relying on his own understanding…

Joshua 9:3-8, 14-15            ³ However, when the people of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, ⁴ they resorted to a ruse: They went as a delegation whose donkeys were loaded with worn-out sacks and old wineskins, cracked and mended. ⁵ They put worn and patched sandals on their feet and wore old clothes. All the bread of their food supply was dry and moldy. ⁶ Then they went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the Israelites, “We have come from a distant country; make a treaty with us.”

⁷ The Israelites said to the Hivites, “But perhaps you live near us, so how can we make a treaty with you?”

⁸ “We are your servants,” they said to Joshua.

But Joshua asked, “Who are you and where do you come from?”

⁹ They answered: “Your servants have come from a very distant country because of the fame of the Lord your God. For we have heard reports of him: all that he did in Egypt… ¹⁴ The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord.¹⁵ Then Joshua made a treaty of peace with them to let them live, and the leaders of the assembly ratified it by oath.

Joshua wasn’t to make a treaty with people who lived nearby. He knew that, but didn’t realize the Gibeonites were deceiving him. He relied on his own understanding. Like Joshua, we can read and know God’s commands but fail to act on them. We can still fall back on relying on our own understanding instead of praying and asking God for wisdom and direction. It may seem like a no brainer and easy decision, but we’re to go to Him for everything both big and small.

How can you and I remember that each and everyday with all of our decisions?

Alice

Thursday Devotional - The Entire Bible

Have you ever read the entire Bible? Maybe you have, but it’s been a while since you read through the entire Bible. I’ve been part of in-depth Bible studies for years, but it’s been a while since I’ve read certain parts of the Bible. Recently, as I was studying II Samuel, I felt God challenge me to re-read the Bible start to finish in a short amount of time. God re-iterated that challenge through re-reading Joshua and reading some articles on the Biblical illiteracy of professing Christians.

As we saw the last few weeks with Joshua and the Israelites, knowing and remembering God’s commands is vital. With the defeat at Ai (after Jericho) and Achan’s disobedience, Joshua stops to re-read and re-write God’s commands to Moses.

Joshua 8:30-32, 34-35      ³⁰ Then Joshua built on Mount Ebal an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, ³¹ as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the Israelites. He built it according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses—an altar of uncut stones, on which no iron tool had been used. On it they offered to the Lord burnt offerings and sacrificed fellowship offerings. ³² There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua wrote on stones a copy of the law of Moses…  ³⁴ Afterward, Joshua read all the words of the law—the blessings and the curses—just as it is written in the Book of the Law. ³⁵ There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read to the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners who lived among them.

If you haven’t ever read the entire Bible, I challenge you to consider listening to it to and from work. It will only take about half a year if you average a 20-minute commute. Or, there are great One Year Bibles (mine has an O.T./N.T./Psalm/Proverb each day).

We can’t truly love, honor and obey God without knowing Him and His Word!

Alice

Thursday Devotional - If He'd Only Waited

Have you ever told a child (or yourself) “If you’d only waited…”?

I know I have many times!

God specifically told Joshua and the Israelites not to take any plunder from Jericho when He delivered it into their hands. As we saw last week, Achan disobeyed and took things anyway. He brought destruction on himself, his whole family and other Israelites. If he had only waited, God told Joshua they could take plunder from the next battle!!

Joshua 8:1-3, 27-28            Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Take the whole army with you, and go up and attack Ai. For I have delivered into your hands the king of Ai, his people, his city and his land. ² You shall do to Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king, except that you may carry off their plunder and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city.”

³ So Joshua and the whole army moved out to attack Ai. He chose thirty thousand of his best fighting men and sent them out at night… 

²⁷ But Israel did carry off for themselves the livestock and plunder of this city, as the Lord had instructed Joshua. ²⁸ So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolate place to this day. 

Where do you and I need to be obedient and wait? Maybe there is something we really want and haven’t gotten yet. I can’t say for sure we will get what we want by waiting, but I can say for sure that if we disobediently go after something it won’t end well. Going ahead of God’s plans and His timing never works. It may bring temporary happiness (a few days for Achan) but not lasting joy.

Let’s remember Achan the next time you and I want to make something happen or have something now. God knows best. We can ask for His help to wait. We can seek His plans and timing.

Alice

Thursday Devotional - More Answers

After last week, did God help Joshua figure out who had sinned?

Joshua 7:16, 19-21, 24-26 ¹⁶ Early the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was chosen…  ¹⁹ Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and honor him. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”

²⁰ Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: ²¹ When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

²⁴ Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the robe, the gold bar, his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys and sheep, his tent and all that he had, to the Valley of Achor.²⁵ Joshua said, “Why have you brought this trouble on us? The Lord will bring trouble on you today.”

Then all Israel stoned him, and after they had stoned the rest, they burned them. ²⁶ Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor ever since.

This seems harsh, especially after Achan confessed to his sin. However, this is what God instructed Joshua to do (Joshua 7:15 – all destroyed by fire).

Sin is serious and it doesn’t just affect us. It affects those in our family, community, work place, nation, etc.   

Similar today, we can’t expect God to support us, defend us, help us, and go with us if we choose to live in sin, condone sin, or try to hide sin. It won’t go well for us as a country or as individuals. It must be removed.

As Jessica talked about last Monday (1/14/19) about mourning our sins, let’s examine ourselves. Where might you and I be living in, condoning or hiding a sin? It can be very painful to remove the sin, but the benefits and blessings to ourselves and others are well worth it in this life and the life to come. God wants to help us in those areas, if we will truly repent and ask for His help to remove it and move forward in obedience.

Alice

Thursday Devotional - Distraught after Victory

Back to Joshua…

The first battle in the promised land, the battle of Jericho, was miraculous and significant, as we saw several weeks ago (11/15/18). God moved first and then made it easy for the Israelites to do their part. It also gave them confidence in God to move forward against the other people in the land. However, the Israelites’ very next battle failed. Joshua was distraught and confused.

Joshua 7:7-12           ⁷ And Joshua said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! ⁸ Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? ⁹ The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?”

¹⁰ The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? ¹¹ Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. ¹² That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.

I can understand Joshua’s frustration, confusion, and distraught feelings. However, God had promised to defeat their enemies if they fully obeyed Him (Deuteronomy 28:7), but if they didn’t carefully follow His commands He would cause them to be defeated by their enemies (Deuteronomy 28:25). I don’t know why Joshua didn’t think about this, especially since God specifically reminded him of this on the 7^th day circling Jericho (Joshua 6:18  But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it.). Maybe Joshua never dreamed someone would take things belonging to God after such a miraculous victory God brought at Jericho!!!

When you and I are distraught and confused by God, let’s remember that He doesn’t ever change. He doesn’t make a mistake. We’re the ones that don’t see the big picture and are missing something.

Joshua was ready to give up. However, he did the right thing by going to God with his questions and frustrations and God had the answers! Let’s remember to be like Joshua.     

Alice

Thursday Devotional - Daunting Delay

By the 6^th day marching around Jericho, I think I would have had my doubts about victory. My daunting and uncertain future might have overwhelmed me in fear, unless I truly kept my trust in God. Plus, couldn’t the delay give the people of Jericho more time to plan for our attack??? God was in charge, though, and what He had planned would work perfectly. The Israelites were called to follow His lead, His timing and His instructions carefully.

Joshua 6:15-21, 24-25        On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. ¹⁶ The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city! ¹⁷ The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the Lord. Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent. ¹⁸ But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it.¹⁹ All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury.”

²⁰ When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city. ²¹ They devoted the city to the Lord and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys…

²⁴ Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord’s house. ²⁵ But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho—and she lives among the Israelites to this day.

What a miraculous first victory in the promised land! God delivered totally! The Israelites were to act, but only after God moved first. They were also to act according to His specific instructions in His time.

There are times I get frustrated with God’s timing and His seeming delay (like the 3 times in an eight-month period the parental rights termination hearing was postponed for the birth parents of James and Sarah). God’s in control. He has a plan. He is always right on time. Waiting can be daunting, but it’s a time for God to grow our trust in Him.

Where are you and I still waiting for direction, a victory, or an answer to prayer? Let’s prayerfully, patiently, and expectantly trust His plan!

Alice

Thursday Devotional - Unpredictable and Unique

After Israel celebrated the Passover in the Promised Land and began enjoying produce from the land, it was time to get to work. Their first stop was the secure walled city of Jericho. I’m not sure if they had some sort of human plan as to how to proceed, attack and conquer, but God had a unique and detailed plan!

Joshua 6:1-7 &11 Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.

² Then the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. ³ March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. ⁴ Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets. ⁵ When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse and the army will go up, everyone straight in.”

⁶ So Joshua son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant of the Lord and have seven priests carry trumpets in front of it.” ⁷ And he ordered the army, “Advance! March around the city, with an armed guard going ahead of the ark of the Lord.”…

¹¹ So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city, circling it once. Then the army returned to camp and spent the night there.

God is unpredictable. We can see that over and over again in the Bible. His unique plans surprised people in the Bible and surprise us today. He doesn’t fit into any of our boxes of expectations. God sometimes asks us to do strange things to accomplish His purposes. No matter how strange it is, following His lead always results in a blessing (whether tangible or intangible).

I mentioned a few weeks ago how God prompted me to go for a jog on a night I don’t normally run and on a route I’ve never jogged in order to reveal our lost license plate!

Whether big or small, where is God asking you and me to do something that seems impossible or strange? Let’s patiently follow His lead one step at a time (without jumping ahead) and expectantly look for His blessings! God’s plans are unpredictable and unique!  

Alice

Thursday Devotional - Timely Encouragement

Once Israel crossed the Jordan River they were in the promised land, but still had a big job ahead of them to conquer all the people that lived there. Unless they swam back across the river, they were stuck! Maybe that’s another reason God miraculously stopped up the Jordan – it would force them to rely on Him and move forward in faith.

As added encouragement, the timing of when they crossed the Jordan was sovereignly planned by God. He had it that they crossed over just in time to celebrate the Passover! According to Exodus 12-13, it was to be celebrated once they were in the promised land on the 14^th day of the first month of the year (year after year) to remember God mightily bringing them out of Egypt.

   

Joshua 5:9-12           Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place has been called Gilgal to this day.

¹⁰ On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover.¹¹ The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. ¹² The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan.

Not only did God bring the Israelites into the promised land exactly 40 years after bringing them out of Egypt, right in time to celebrate the Passover, but He had them experience the wonderful food of the land before removing His miraculous provision of manna. God continued to prepare, encourage and stretch the Israelites in order for them to accomplish His purposes and receive His blessings.

In the midst of overwhelming changes, we can also look for God’s timely encouragement. We can choose to recognize all His help, preparation and encouragement or wallow in the seemingly daunting tasks ahead. Which will you choose?   

Alice

Thursday Devotional - The Reason for Miracles

Have you ever seen God do an amazing miracle? At another time, did you pray for a miracle and then were disappointed that He didn’t step in and perform in an amazing way like in the past?

God displays His power to accomplish His purposes. We aren’t God and we don’t see the big picture. When God parted the Red Sea, He did so to show the Israelites and the Egyptians He was fighting for Israel (Exodus 14). When God parted the Jordan, He did it to display His power to the new generation of Israelites and to all the Canaanites living along the Jordan.    

Joshua 3:14-17        ¹⁴ So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. ¹⁵ Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, ¹⁶ the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. ¹⁷ The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground…

Joshua 4:24     He [the Lord] did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.

The town of Adam is a long way from Jericho. I didn’t realize until recently how many people (besides all the Israelites) would have witnessed God’s power to stop the Jordan River!!! He usually has numerous reasons for displaying His power through miracles.

In looking back over the miracles you have witnessed, think about all the different reasons God may have chosen to work in a might way. Let’s remember those times so we will continue to fear the Lord and trust in His power, even when He doesn’t work when and how we would like in a current situation. He’s God and we are not! His power is displayed to accomplish His purposes, not my whims and wishes.

Alice

Thursday Devotional - One Constant in Change

Did you know that the parting of the Red Sea when Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt wasn’t the only time God miraculously parted water? After the spies scouted out Jericho with the protection of Rahab, Joshua led the people to the Jordan River where God stopped it up, too, so they could cross on dry ground. Not only did it display God’s power to this new generation of Israelites, but it confirmed to the people that God had chosen and was with Joshua, just as He had chosen and been with Moses.

Joshua 3:5-13     Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”

⁶ Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of them.

⁷ And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.⁸ Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’”

⁹ Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. ¹⁰ This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. ¹¹ See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. ¹² Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. ¹³ And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.”

With all the reorganization taking place in our company, there are a lot of changes happening. Change often triggers confusion and insecurity. As unstable as things feel, there is always One constant and that is God Himself!

God revealed His continued presence with the Israelites while they experienced significant change in leadership and location! He can do the same for us. We can trust Him and His plans. Our powerful God provides all that’s needed for His purposes.

When has God revealed His unmistakable power to show you and me He’s trustworthy? With whom will you and I share it?

The One constant - God - is the Lord of all the earth!  

Alice

Thursday Devotional - Certainty in God

After 2 heart surgeries, including a defibrillator/pacemaker implant, my Dad is home recovering. It was a scary week for all of us. As I cried out to God for help, direction, healing, etc., I knew I could trust God. I wasn’t sure I could trust all the doctors or any of our own research and wisdom, but I could trust God who sees all and knows all and is in control of all. He’s the only Sovereign One over all creation.

As God prepared Joshua and the Israelites to enter and take over the promised land in Canaan, He had the spies enter the home of someone who had already believed in God’s sovereignty (His power and control over all things).

Joshua 2:1-11            Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.

² The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” ³ So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.”

⁴ But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them…

⁸ Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof ⁹ and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. ¹⁰ We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. ¹¹ When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.

As the spies were in good hands, so is my Dad. God goes before us. He paves the way, just as He did for Joshua and the spies. My Mom and sisters and I had moments of doubts this past week. At times we doubted the right decisions were made or the right care was done. However, God reminded us of the ways He had provided when we had asked for wisdom and direction.

 

When has God gone before you in the past?

How can you and I remember that as we trust Him to go before us in the future?

We’re in the best hands with God. Only He is Sovereign.

We can have certainty in Him!

Alice

Thursday Devotional - Courage in Uncertainty

My family and I are studying Joshua through Solomon (People of the Promised Land, Part I) in Bible Study Fellowship this year (last year was Romans). No matter what we are studying, it always applies to our particular situation!

Over the last couple of weeks we have and continue to face several health challenges. One big one is my Dad’s heart. He is having heart surgery again today because of a possible complication from his heart surgery earlier this summer. When fear surfaces, we keep clinging to several of the following verses in Joshua 1.

Joshua 1:1-9            After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: ² “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. ³ I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. ⁴ Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.⁵ No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. ⁶ Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.

⁷ “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. ⁸ Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. ⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:1-9 

God prepared Joshua for the task He had given to him. None of these commands or promises were new (see Genesis 13, Deuteronomy 11 and 31). Joshua had heard them before. However, for Joshua’s benefit, God reiterated His plan, His promise, His presence and His principles.

When I start worrying about our family health challenges, these verses remind me that God will never leave us, we aren’t to be afraid or discouraged, and we are to trust in Him. He will enable us to accomplish what He has planned for us to do as we continue to study and meditate on His Word.

Where are you facing uncertainty? How do these verses challenge and encourage you?

We can have courage in God, despite uncertainty!

Alice