Go!

Go!

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. Joshua 1:9 KJV

Joshua had seen mighty things done in the life of Moses by God. He was there at the Red Sea; he was there all through the desert experiences, both good and bad. He saw both Moses' own brother Aaron and sister Miriam punished by God for their rebellion; he saw Korah, Dathan and Abiram swallowed up by the ground; he saw the manna, the budding staff, the glory of God on Mount Sinai as well as on the first tabernacle and also experienced first hand the rebellion of the people just at the point of entering the promised land. He was there all through the wanderings in the desert for 40 years, and I am sure he would have seen how God dealt with Moses for his own sin. 

Once again, the lesson: God will punish sin, no matter in whom it is found. There are no super favourites with God when it comes to the matter of sin; as He dealt with sin in Adam, so did He deal with sin when His own Son bore our sins on the cross. As I seek to walk with or work for God, I must settle the matter of sin once and for all, so that I do not have a stumbling block on my way to eternity. I must not toy with sin; it will hinder my walk with God, and limit His work in and through me. 

Joshua would have heard God's voice several times as Israel journeyed in the desert, but nothing could prepare him for this new phase of leadership. He had Moses to guide him before, but now, Moses was dead. For where God is taking me, the familiar and the usual may have to die off, so that God can directly reach me. All that I used to know may have to give way for the new, the unusual and the amazing that God has planned for me. What is that thing that has to die for God to be able to reach and use me? What is He trying to take out of my hands which I am holding on to so tightly? Does He have to kill it off before I learn? Do I have to learn the hard way before I submit? 

The destination was the same, but the message to Joshua was different. Both were commissioned to take Israel into Egypt, but how God dealt with each man was different. This is the danger of 'copy and paste' where I just take another man's experience as my own, without learning how God wants to deal with ME. He gave me peculiar fingerprints so He could prove that no matter how many we are on the face of the earth, He has a unique and personalised experience for me. I must not take another man's story and make it my testimony; I must go to God to give me my own story, which will become my testimony, and a lesson to other people. Moses got his marching orders, and where he stopped, God continued with Joshua and expanded it. Am I living in the past, or looking ahead to that which God is doing NOW? 

So the question: who is commanding my present pursuit? The word 'command' isn't a mistake; God does not do consultations; I am either obedient or disobedient. I don't get to bend God to my will, but to embrace His will or reject it outright. There is no sitting on the fence on this one, as there is none. And He does not promise perpetual blue skies; things will happen that will shake my ground or threaten my peace, but I must always remember the One who commands my assignment. If He ordained it, He will sustain it. If He did not command it, no amount of public appeal or applause will sustain it. 

I must not let the storms outside get into the boat of my heart. Fear may come; distress may threaten, but as long as I carry the Presence of God, I am safe from every evil. His Presence is promised, and when God speaks, the integrity of His Word is at stake, and this is a God who has been proven over and over again to keep His Word. He cannot and will not be called a liar, because His name is at stake. A year of strange things is almost over, and at the risk of sounding faithless, we do not know with certainty what the incoming year holds. However, God promises tribulation, trials, provisions, protection, His Presence and Grace and the help of the Holy Spirit. Would we take only the one that looks convenient and reject the others because we don't like the way they look? Have you ever seen any man God used mightily who didn't have challenges but overcame by the help of God? I look forward to ALL that is ahead, because I have the God of all the earth with and in me. No matter what comes, my heart is settled on God alone. Come what may, may God be glorified in me. His time of favour is here.