There have been
many, many times that I feel the desire to write, but then I find myself poised
with my fingers above the keys, and I find I don’t have the inspiration I need.
This can go on for days or weeks. But then, without even voicing a prayer about
it, God provides a word, an image, or an idea, seeming to shout, “write about
me!”
I am reading
through the books of both Joshua and John right now. I chose John to start off
the new year, but Joshua presented itself when I remembered to use the Bible
Study app “First 5,” that I had downloaded back in October (I highly recommend it!). It’s not
necessarily an obvious pairing, but one common theme has emerged. And that is
the theme of courage.
At the beginning of
a new year, many people speak of resolutions or key words they will try to live
by. I’m not one for this type of thing. But if were to choose one word I want
to define this year, it would be courage. I would readily not classify myself
as a courageous person. I have times of confidence and boldness, but usually I wallow
in that horrible place half way between fear and faith. Yet these last two
weeks reading of God’s command for Joshua to be strong and courageous, to not
be afraid, to set aside discouragement, I asked myself, “if all scripture is
God’s Word, how is this a Word for me?”
There is a passage
in Isaiah that speaks a little bit more into my question:
Although
the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your
teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether
you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you,
saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isaiah
30:20-21)
The times when I
need courage are hardly ever grand or explosive. It is in the daily decisions
to be guided by God. To trust that He will go with me wherever I go (before and
behind), and that His peace is with me, saying gently, “this is the way, walk
in it.”
“Is it wrong for me
to be sitting still?” This one of the hardest questions I pose to myself,
almost on a daily basis. It’s high within the Christian vocabulary to speak about
taking leaps of faith. But I’m going to tread out on a limb with this: sometimes
I think we make leaping into an idol. A better question I should ask myself is,
“What does risky faith look like for me?” Though my friends who have moved away
are often models of what this looks like, I cannot and should not compare my
own faith journey to theirs.
At the beginning of
the book of Joshua, God says,
"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit
the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. “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. 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. 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 1:6-9)
God was not only speaking of boldness
for their military advancements. He was talking about strength and courage for
all parts of their lives. The
Israelites’ “leaps of faith” were when they stayed put and waited for the Lord
to move or speak. They were not idle, they were striving to live according to
the law They even set up pillars of remembrance, to recount God’s faithfulness.
The waiting is
hard. I know that. Joshua knew that. Jesus even knew that. Multiple times in
the book of John, Jesus is recorded as saying, “My time has not yet come.” As
one with the Father, Jesus surely knew his timeline here on earth. But as a man,
I bet he was a bit impatient with the badgering of his disciples (and mother!) who
were beginning to understand God’s power and wanted to see Jesus’ supernatural
abilities at work. At this point, if Jesus had been an ordinary man, he might
have felt a bit like a fraud or a failure. I know I would have. As my
expectations and hopes deflate, maybe Jesus’ words here can be an
encouragement. Throughout scripture, we see that God’s timing is perfect.
Therefore if we are holding onto a promise not yet fulfilled, we can confidently
say, “my time has not yet come”—not with an inflated ego, but with faith,
knowing that the Lord is continually weaving millions and millions of webs together,
for His glory and our joy.
In the mean time,
there are two more things we can learn from Joshua.
When Joshua
encounters the commander of the Lord’s army at the end of chapter 5, he expects
to receive detailed plans about the upcoming battle. Instead, he receives a
call to worship:
Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man
standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him
and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in
reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you
are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
(Joshua 5: 13-15)
Lysa
Terkeurst (one of the writers for the First 5 Bible Study app) says of this
passage: “God is not only big enough to handle the battle before Joshua, but
also loving enough to address the doubt, fear, and insecurity running through
his mind.” Joshua is called to worship more, and worry less. If you’re anything
like me, when something goes wrong or there is a daunting hurdle in front of
me, the last thing I think of doing is worshiping God. Worry kicks into high
gear, and once I breathe in and out a few times, I eventually turn to prayer.
But worship? But Lysa points out that this type of change in attitude, “quiets
us and strengthens us, perfectly preparing our hearts and minds for whatever
battles lie ahead.” There is boldness in worship. Especially when we don’t “feel”
it. In His mercy, God enables our hearts to catch up with our mouths. It might
take some practice and lots of courage. We might feel like we are repeating the
same Psalm or hymn over and over, but that is when we learn every spiritual
practice is a discipline. A discipline that honors God and changes us. If this
is how we are sitting still, then we are doing it right.
The second
thing we can learn from Joshua is about the courage to just keep walking. At
this point, a repetitive Veggie Tales song might be floating through your mind.
. . whatever it takes to get the message across, my friends!
In Joshua
chapter 6, the Israelites finally reach the city of Jericho. I won’t go into
this too much because we all know the story, but suffice it to say, Joshua and the
people of God were probably a little more than confused (maybe even angry) at these
bizarre marching orders. Yet by the end of the chapter, we know that God’s
plans and timing equaled victory! As simple as this story is, it is a powerful reminder
of God’s command in the first chapter: “be strong and courageous, do not be
discouraged.” Do not be discouraged by having to keep going when there’s no
evidence of our situation changing. Keep walking. Or sitting... but actively
moving forward in faith, holding tightly to God’s promise. In John
14:17 Jesus echoes this by sharing this promise with His disciples, "Peace
I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to
you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
Let us not be
deceived into thinking this is an easy task. Waiting well is as difficult a
thing as taking action. In the 15th chapter of John, lies the iconic
analogy of the vine and the branches. I don’t know if I’ve ever realized this
before, but verse two packs a heavy punch: "Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and
every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit." Either way, things in our lives are going to
be cut back. We often mistake closed doors and thwarted experiences as
punishment or a heavy “no” from God. But not necessarily so. Even the most
fruitful and hope-filled parts of our lives must be pruned by the Master
vinedresser. The good gifts of God that are just beyond our might still be in
the pruning stage. We need courage to acknowledge this, and humility to respond
well.
None of this
is by our own power. That is why I want to end with Jesus’ promise to His
disciples in John 16:33: “I have said these things to you, that
in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take
heart; I have overcome the world.”
This reminds
me so strongly of Aslan’s words to Lucy in the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, when everyone aboard the ship thought
there was no hope:
“Courage, dear heart.”
Sunday, January
17, 2010
