Reason #163
..."because He wholeheartedly follow the Lord, the God of Israel." - Joshua 14:14
We talked about loyalty in Sunday school this morning. Loyalty, faithfulness. Actions rarely seen lived out in today's society.
I love reading about the Israelites. I love their story of resuce. I love seeing how God led them as they wandered, how He met their every need in the wilderness, how He performed miracles in front of their very eyes, and how He fulfilled His every promise He made to them.
"He is the one who keeps every promise forever... "(Psalm 146:6)
He had promised them the Promised Land. Promised to give them a new home, a better home than what they had. And so they sent in spies just to make sure it was really as good as He had said it would be. But fear struck them when they saw giants were living there. Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all. This land was unchartered territory and seemed to come with some risks. Maybe they should just stay put. Sure, God had brought them right to it, shown them how incredible this land was, promised it was theirs, but they were scared. Fearful of all the things they could think up with their human minds. And frankly, I get that. It's easy to be scared of the unknown, of new places. Was this really where God was calling them? Had they misunderstood Him by chance? Waivering faith. God, we'll trust you as long as it's easy, not risky, and definitely not scary. And after all He had been doing for them, you think they wouldn't have had a second thought about moving forward into this new place, about facing these giants. I'm so amazed at how much I have in common with this crowd.
But there were two. Caleb and Joshua. Men who didn't doubt. Men who believed the Lord, took Him at His word, knew He was faithful and trustworthy, and they followed Him wholeheartedly. They knew there was risk involved. They knew it wasn't going to be easy. But they knew their God, the God of Israel, was bigger than any obstacle they faced. Bigger than any fear they had. And they knew this was right where He was leading them. So they stood their ground and decided they would follow Him. Even if it meant they had to put themselves in a spot of vulnerability, even if they had to be a little scared, even if it required more work than they originally thought, they were going to remain loyal, trust Him, and have faith as they followed Him wholeheartedly.
And the Lord rewarded their faithfulness. The Lord allowed them to enter into this land. In fact, He even allowed Joshua to lead them into it. Because Joshua had trusted the Lord, the Lord trusted Joshua with this big task. So all worked out as it should have, right? Oh, but wait a minute. Joshua, who had been wandering through the desert for quite a while the first time he saw the Promised Land, got stuck wandering for 40 more years because of the faithlessness of the rest of the Israelites. And so each of those faithless ones died. God, of course, was faithful to them during those 40 years, but they didn't get to enter the Promised Land. Just imagine how much easier life would have been for them if they would have had the faith to follow God wholeheartedly. Scared, maybe, but wholeheartedly none the less.
So I think about Joshua and Caleb. Men, who had been to the Promised Land once, had to wait for 40 more years before they could finally enter into it for good. And during that wait, they remained loyal. They didn't give up on God. They knew He would follow through on His promises. He always does. But sometimes, you just have to wait and be faithful to continue following Him wholeheartedly as you do. Maybe your actions are keeping you in the wait, maybe it's the actions of others, but you wait and you hold tight to those promises, remembering that He who promises is faithful.
And God, the one who is always faithful to fulfill every promise, is so faithful to remind me of His promises time and time again. To remind me that just because I have to wait doesn't mean He won't fulfill what He has promised. I know He will. I don't know when, but I know He will. 40 years? Hopefully not. But I've come to learn that when He has you waiting, it's for a reason. And maybe, just maybe, if I can learn to be more like Joshua and Caleb, if I can learn to follow wholeheartedly the WHOLE time rather than part of the time, I'll be much more prepared when He fulfills that promise.
#163 - Because He fulfills every promise.
"But be sure to fear the LORD and faithfully serve him. Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you." - 1 Samuel 12:24
We talked about loyalty in Sunday school this morning. Loyalty, faithfulness. Actions rarely seen lived out in today's society.
I love reading about the Israelites. I love their story of resuce. I love seeing how God led them as they wandered, how He met their every need in the wilderness, how He performed miracles in front of their very eyes, and how He fulfilled His every promise He made to them.
"He is the one who keeps every promise forever... "(Psalm 146:6)
He had promised them the Promised Land. Promised to give them a new home, a better home than what they had. And so they sent in spies just to make sure it was really as good as He had said it would be. But fear struck them when they saw giants were living there. Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all. This land was unchartered territory and seemed to come with some risks. Maybe they should just stay put. Sure, God had brought them right to it, shown them how incredible this land was, promised it was theirs, but they were scared. Fearful of all the things they could think up with their human minds. And frankly, I get that. It's easy to be scared of the unknown, of new places. Was this really where God was calling them? Had they misunderstood Him by chance? Waivering faith. God, we'll trust you as long as it's easy, not risky, and definitely not scary. And after all He had been doing for them, you think they wouldn't have had a second thought about moving forward into this new place, about facing these giants. I'm so amazed at how much I have in common with this crowd.
But there were two. Caleb and Joshua. Men who didn't doubt. Men who believed the Lord, took Him at His word, knew He was faithful and trustworthy, and they followed Him wholeheartedly. They knew there was risk involved. They knew it wasn't going to be easy. But they knew their God, the God of Israel, was bigger than any obstacle they faced. Bigger than any fear they had. And they knew this was right where He was leading them. So they stood their ground and decided they would follow Him. Even if it meant they had to put themselves in a spot of vulnerability, even if they had to be a little scared, even if it required more work than they originally thought, they were going to remain loyal, trust Him, and have faith as they followed Him wholeheartedly.
And the Lord rewarded their faithfulness. The Lord allowed them to enter into this land. In fact, He even allowed Joshua to lead them into it. Because Joshua had trusted the Lord, the Lord trusted Joshua with this big task. So all worked out as it should have, right? Oh, but wait a minute. Joshua, who had been wandering through the desert for quite a while the first time he saw the Promised Land, got stuck wandering for 40 more years because of the faithlessness of the rest of the Israelites. And so each of those faithless ones died. God, of course, was faithful to them during those 40 years, but they didn't get to enter the Promised Land. Just imagine how much easier life would have been for them if they would have had the faith to follow God wholeheartedly. Scared, maybe, but wholeheartedly none the less.
So I think about Joshua and Caleb. Men, who had been to the Promised Land once, had to wait for 40 more years before they could finally enter into it for good. And during that wait, they remained loyal. They didn't give up on God. They knew He would follow through on His promises. He always does. But sometimes, you just have to wait and be faithful to continue following Him wholeheartedly as you do. Maybe your actions are keeping you in the wait, maybe it's the actions of others, but you wait and you hold tight to those promises, remembering that He who promises is faithful.
And God, the one who is always faithful to fulfill every promise, is so faithful to remind me of His promises time and time again. To remind me that just because I have to wait doesn't mean He won't fulfill what He has promised. I know He will. I don't know when, but I know He will. 40 years? Hopefully not. But I've come to learn that when He has you waiting, it's for a reason. And maybe, just maybe, if I can learn to be more like Joshua and Caleb, if I can learn to follow wholeheartedly the WHOLE time rather than part of the time, I'll be much more prepared when He fulfills that promise.
#163 - Because He fulfills every promise.
"But be sure to fear the LORD and faithfully serve him. Think of all the wonderful things he has done for you." - 1 Samuel 12:24