just a couple of days ago, my friend and i were having coffee, catching up on life and lessons we're learning and swapping inspiration, etc., and [more often than not] we find ourselves laughing at the fact that sometimes, God just wants to teach us the most simple, obvious truths that we sort of shrug off like "oh, i already know THAT lesson..." and we forget that sometimes the "basics" are more powerful than the most profound, sought out truth that took us months to learn. of course, i want to grow deeper in His wisdom, dig in and discover new gems hidden in His word.... but i also want to keep that childlike faith that is teachable even in the lessons that seem so elementary, because most of the time, they're foundational, they're necessary, and they're just good.
reading through joshua [on chapter 9 now], i'm reminded again and again that God asks us to do things that don't make sense, at all. can you imagine what joshua was thinking when God told him His 'attack plan' on the city of jericho?! i'm sure that walking around the city [in silence] for 6 days, then marching around it 7 times on the 7th day, making a chaos of noise at the end, seemed like the craziest, most embarrassing thing to do, right?
this city has locked up their gates, trembling at the doom to come, and then they see the israelites marching around their wall... and this is a land of giants. can you imagine the ridicule? their mocking laughter probably filled the city, except for rahab's home, which was probably kept in solemn silence, wondering if that little red cord was going to save them [different blog post on that... rahab's awesome].
God asked joshua to do something crazy, that didn't make any sense, and joshua obeyed - immediately without question. he could've easily said no to God, or asked a million questions, or delayed his action - gosh, how often is my obedience delayed or contingent on circumstance? "ok God, i'll do that... but not right now, i'll get to it if i have time, or when it makes sense..."
can you imagine if the israelites never walked around that city because it didn't make sense? or what if they began walking and then on day 4, they were like, "this is too hard, we're not seeing even a hint that this is working. not one stone as fallen yet, there's not even a crack in the wall! this is just as crazy as the day we started. still doesn't make sense. the ridicule has increased. we're tired. we give up."
i cringe at the thought because, oh, i KNOW i do that far too often. too many times i wait until 'it makes sense' not only to me, but to other people as well. ugh, how often do i base my obedience on what other people will think of me and my decision?
i just need to take God at His word and ignore what people may say about me, plain and simple.
it was only when joshua and the israelites had put their faith into action that God crushed the walls and gave them victory, it was only when the priests placed both feet into the jordan that God parted the water for them to cross, it was only when rahab put the scarlet rope in her window that she was saved.
God absolutely fights for us and does the impossible for us, but it is when we obey and act - when we participate in His calling - that we'll experience His glory and supernatural victories.
[i feel like i have to interject a little side note: they were all human and made quite a few decisions based on what made sense without God's counsel, and experienced unnecessary defeat and heartache... and yet, God continued to give grace and renewed mercies every morning, always giving them new opportunities to participate.... so even if we've messed up and disobeyed countless times, He still loves us and still gives us opportunities to obey! hallelujah!]
i don't think i've ever felt so convicted while writing a blog post, ha! this lesson is for me, hands down. but i hope you're encouraged and feel a nudge to do something that you've been putting off, that you know God's calling you to do - step out! you can do it, because God has already guaranteed victory! how great would it be to have testimonies of listening to God's crazy awesome instruction, believing Him, obeying Him on the spot, and then getting to experience His glory and miracles we never thought possible?!
