FOLLOWING GOD'S DIRECTIONS

Still Joshua 3!

            Did you notice this when you read Joshua 3?  “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God…follow it” (Joshua 3:3).  When were the people to move out?  When they saw the ark proceeding!  Not one of the Israelites was told to go ahead of the ark.  Not even Joshua.  The ark of the Lord went first and as soon as the people saw it moving they were to follow.  The really enthusiastic Hebrews might have been tempted to rush ahead and show how brave and faithful they were.  Maybe they wanted to jump into the river and start swimming across.  That would have been wrong.  That would have been fatal self-dependence, not faith.  When we keep asking the questions about what God wants us to do with our lives and about what God’s will is for our lives it is like we are running ahead and jumping into the river.  We are rushing ahead of God.  It is when we run ahead of the Lord that we fall and fail.  I used to hate it when we bought something for one of our sons that was in a box with the warning, “Some assembly required.”  I knew what that meant.  It meant I would be up all night on Christmas Eve trying to find the right tools and trying to follow incomprehensible instructions.  It was so frustrating!  Inevitably I would get to a point where I would think I knew where parts went and would stop looking at the directions.  You know what would happen.  It would never look quite like the picture on the box and I would always have a few pieces left over. I didn’t know where they went.  That’s kind of like what happens when we rush ahead of God and fail to wait on him to show us the way he wants us to go!

            Neither were the Hebrews to hesitate once they saw the ark moving.  They were not supposed to sit and wait to see who was going to go first.  They were to obey the word of God and follow the ark.  They were to step out in faith.  If they hesitated they would be showing a lack of faith in God.  When God shows us what he wants us to do we must do it without hesitation.  If we stall we fall!  I hate the feeling of guilt I have when I neglect an opportunity to do something God urged me to do.  Do you know that feeling?  You know, it’s when you just feel in your heart that you’re supposed to do something for someone or say something to someone and you don’t do it.  That makes me feel so bad!  Remember the old saying, “He who hesitates is lost.”  When we look at that statement in a spiritual context we know there is truth in it.  If any of the Hebrews hesitated to cross behind the ark they would have been permanently stranded on the other side of the river!  They would have been left out.  Sometimes the offer of the gospel is like this.  You hear the way of salvation.  You hear the call to trust Christ and follow him.  Hesitation could be eternally fatal!  If you hear the word of God urging you to take a step of faith and trust in Christ do not put it off.  You never know if you will have the opportunity to hear the gospel again!

            Neither were the Hebrews allowed to try to find another way across the river.  God was going ahead of them.  His way was the only way.  If they tried another route it would have been fatal.  Do you want to know what God has for you?  Then follow him!  When he leads us into the unknown it is an adventure without equal because we will discover the great things God has for us!  There is no other way.  The same is true with the doctrine of salvation.  There is only one way to a right relationship with God and that is through Jesus Christ.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).  Peter said, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).  People say, “We all have our own way to God, our own means of salvation.”  That is not true!  That is a fatal error and yet another lie of the devil.  There is no other way to God except through Jesus.  And there is no other way to living in God’s will than to follow God’s way!

PRESENCE OF GOD

Still thinking about Joshua 3

            If we want to discern God’s direction for our lives we need to learn to recognize God’s presence with us at all times.  This was something that really helped the Hebrews as they prepared to cross the Jordan.  The ark of the covenant was the symbol of God’s immediate presence among the Israelites.  The priests were to carry the ark before the people to lead them across the river.  God commanded the people, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, who are Levites carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it.  Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before.  But keep a distance of about a thousand yards between you and the ark; do not go near it” (Joshua 3:3, 4).  The ark was the reminder to the people that God was with them and was leading them.  Some scholars point out that one of the reasons the ark was to be so far out ahead of the people was so they could all see the ark and could be certain of God’s presence.  As long as the people were sure that God was with them they could go anywhere!  How would the people know where God wanted them to go?  If they just stayed behind the ark they would know where to go!  They had never been that way before but if God was with them then they could go by faith! 

            And so it is true for us as well.  When we are standing on the brink of stepping into an unknown situation, a place we have never gone before, we need to keep in the front of our minds the fact that God is with us.  Isn’t it strange how it is in such times of stress we actually feel abandoned by God?  That is a lie the devil puts into our minds to confuse us.  It is just the opposite!  God is the one who planned our route and he is the one who has brought us to this point in our lives.  How could we think he would abandon us and leave us standing alone without guidance when we need it most?  What was it Jesus said to his disciples just before ascending into heaven?  “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).  I need to ask myself, “Do I really believe this?”  If this is true then I don’t need to worry about discovering God’s will for my life.  He is right here with me holding my hand and leading me in the direction he wants me to go.  I will see the way clearly when he shows it to me. 

            When I was a boy our family took a lot of camping vacations and we visited some of the most beautiful and awesome places in the country.  My dad used to take us on hikes all over the place.  We would climb to the top of waterfalls and to the top of great rocks on narrow trails.  When I look at those places today it amazes me that we took those hikes.  (My mom must have been a nervous wreck!)  But the fact was this: as long as my dad was with me I would go anywhere without fear or even a second thought.  I was confident that he knew the way and could help me get there.  If we can have such confidence in an earthly father, why would we hesitate to trust our Heavenly Father?  That’s why the psalmist was able to write, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me” (Psalm 23:4).  If we keep God’s presence in the front of our minds we will be able to trust him to lead us.

NOTHING TO FEAR BUT FEAR

Joshua 3     

            Joshua and the Israelites were camped on the east banks of the Jordan River looking across into the promised land of Canaan.  Soon God would call them to cross over.  Perhaps the Hebrews felt a particular fear about crossing over the river because of what their parents had heard from the spies who had scoped out Canaan all those years before.  The stories about giants and fortified cities must have lived on.  Maybe there were many of them who were very afraid of the dangers that lay ahead of them in the Promised Land.  But the fact of the matter is, just because something is unknown does not make it more dangerous!  Would Canaan be any more dangerous than the wilderness in which they had been wandering for all those years?  It was only more dangerous in the imaginations of the doubters and the faithless.  God had been with them all their lives.  He had been guiding them, protecting them, and providing for them.  He had already said he would go with them into Canaan.  So how could it be more dangerous? 

            Do we fear the unknown?  Do we wonder about the new dangers we don’t even know about?  Do we think that stepping out into the darkness is any more dangerous than what we have already known?  It does no good to fear.  Fear of the unknown will do nothing to diminish whatever danger might be out there.  But what it will do is diminish faith.  It will diminish our effectiveness.  When fear is given its way people shy away and hesitate to try new things.  When fear gains control then our minds and hearts are focused on the fear instead of on God.  Think about the Hebrews again.  If they had stayed on the east side of the Jordan they never would have accomplished anything for God and his kingdom.  Even if they stayed east of the river it would do nothing to diminish the dangers on the west side.  Those things would all remain the same.  The only thing that would be changed is that they would never know what was over the river and they would have failed to do what God wanted them to do.  The same is true for us.  If we don’t step out in faith then we won’t accomplish the things God has for us to do.  The fears will be the same and the dangers will be the same but nothing will be done for God.

            When we face the unknown with all its fears, risks, and dangers, we need to remember that God is faithful.  We may shudder in fear and anxiety but God never changes and he never fails to care for his people.  Think of it this way.  He has helped us this far.  He has helped us carry our present crosses.  He has brought us through every previously unknown situation to this day.  There once was a time when our present burdens were nothing more than unknown dangers.  They were once new and frightening but God helped us adjust to them and showed us the way to bear them.  When the Israelites came out of Egypt they were not adept at living in the desert.  They were city folks.  But God was with them and enabled them to adjust to their new lifestyles.  He proved himself faithful.  Hasn’t God proved himself faithful to us?  If God is faithful then what do we have to fear?

            There is yet one more way to look at the problem of the unknown and its risks and dangers.  The very fact that we are facing the unknown demonstrates that we have been making progress.  Progress, by definition, means change.  If we make progress then we will face new situations, new difficulties, and new trials.  For example, if Israel had not made progress through the wilderness they would never have reached their present location on the banks of the Jordan River.  If we want to make progress then we must come to expect unknown and new trials. 

            But here is the good news.  New trials generally end the old ones.  The Israelites came out of the desert.  That must have been a glorious day for them!  Imagine leaving behind the devastating heat and dryness of the desert and walking into the lush greenery along the river!  At the same time they were moving toward the unknown with its new dangers and difficulties!  The desert troubles came to an end while the Canaan problems were just beginning! 

            So it is with our lives and our ministries.  As we make progress in our faith we win victories over the struggles we encounter only to meet up with new struggles.  Our young church overcomes hurdles only to face new hurdles.  This is true for students who conquer one grade only to move on to the next, more challenging grade.  Elementary school to middle school; middle school to high school; high school to work or college.  Young people move from one place in their relationship toward marriage and its unknown trials.  Marriages move along and children are born.  People become Christians and grow in faith only to find that there are new trials ahead of them.  This is progress and God is with us every step of the way.