EXPAND TO READ: JOSHUA 3 (HCSB)
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 5): Joshua told Your people to “consecrate yourselves” just before they went out on their march to cross the Jordan River. He essentially was telling them to officially devote themselves, their time, and all that they are to this task which the Lord has gathered them for. I know I’ve consecrated myself for some things in my life, such as these quiet times with You daily and the Real Men 300 ministry, Father. Have I truly consecrated myself in Your eyes in much else in my life which is pleasing to You? I really do not think I have and I am sorry for that, Father. Please forgive me for not being more “all in” in my faith and walk with You. Forgive me for often trying to do things according to my own will or maybe even doing things haphazardly just to do them. Help me to be better at fully devoting (consecrating) all that I am to You, Father, no matter what the task is You’d have me do in the next steps.
PROMISE (verse 7): I can only imagine the reassurance Joshua had in this moment as You were speaking to him. He was about to lead Your people into potentially their final big battle to claim their promised land. I’m sure his emotions and nerves were going a bit crazy. You promised him, however, that You will be with him just as You were with Moses. You made this promise to him as a reassurance that You will not leave his side. I’m sure he felt a sigh of relief hearing these amazing words of assurance from You in this exact moment. Thank You for Your timing of kind and empowering words at just the right moments, Father.
ATTITUDE (verses 8, 13): Joshua’s obedience is a great example of how I should be acting in this life when I receive guidance from You. Him and Your people received word from You that those carrying the ark of the covenant would go ahead of everyone else and as soon as those carrying the ark stood in the Jordan’s waters, the flow of the river would be halted by You so they could pass easily and freely, just like in Egypt when You used Moses to part the sea for their safe passage. They didn’t express obvious doubt in this scripture, nor a fear going into the battle. They kept and embraced an attitude of trust and obedience in You throughout. Help me with embracing these attitudes fully in myself, Father. I’m sure if I was placed in this exact situation, I would likely have a lot of fears and doubts racing through my mind. Parting a flowing river just by having a few of our people standing at the edge of it? Sounds crazy, right?! I know that You are almighty and all powerful. I know that this mountain of a task is quite easy for You. At the same time, I do struggle with often holding onto my flesh in a way that produces fear and doubts, which is not how You called me to live. Help me with this, Father.
COMMAND (verse 8): This command from You to Your people through Joshua is an amazing one, but I can only imagine some of the struggles Your people may have faced when initially hearing it. Your command was for those carrying to go ahead of everyone else by themselves then simply stand in the waters of the Jordan River to initiate an amazing event from You. In this command, You told them that once those carrying the ark of the covenant are standing in the waters of the Jordan River that You would halt the waters so that they could pass through freely. Joshua had zero doubts and immediately passed this command onto Your people. Your people had no doubts and immediately proceeded with following through with Your command. Help me to live in obedience like Joshua and Your people did here, Father.
EXAMPLE (verses 15-17): I find this example of Your great power to be absolutely amazing. You didn’t just part a great body of water for Your people once. You parted two different great bodies of water at different timeframes for different purposes. The first time was with Moses leading Your people out of Egypt. The second time was with Joshua leading Your people into claiming their promised land. Such amazing power to witness by these people not once, but twice! I could not imagine seeing a massive wall of water taken out of my way in front of my own eyes so that I could walk freely across a large body of water. This was the second time many of them witnessed this from You, so I am sure some of them were not as much in awe the second time around as they were the first time, but I would be amazed every single time I became a witness to Your amazing power! Thank You for this testimony, Father. Thank You for showing that absolutely nothing can stand in the way of the path You have set in front of Your people if it is Your will for them.
*DAILY NOTE: There are so many things to take out of today’s conversation with You while reading through Joshua 3. Obedience, trust, reliance on You, unwavering faith, and courage just to name a few. Thank You for shedding more and more light of how Joshua took over leading Your people after Moses joined You in Heaven. Thank You for revealing to me how obedience Joshua and Your people were in these trials of war, battles, and immense obstacles in order to attain the promised land from You. Thank You for today’s great conversation, Father. Help me to remember these lessons and embrace them in my heart so that they are always there for me to remember when I face similar obstacles in my own life, Father.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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