Breaking Up the Clods

Good Morning!

I am writing this on the evening of the 27th. The weathermen / women are predicting some awful stuff heading our way tonight … right around midnight. I guess I should be scared but I’m not. I know our dogs, Lilliput and Ladybug, will be hanging close by all this evening and into the early morning hours. Usually, when the storm is brewing, Lilly will stick her nose into my face to get my attention. She needs a little comforting in the midst of the storm. And I will reach out and stroke her neck and give her a pat … and she will be okay for a moment. Lady will follow in short order, expecting the same from me.

I was talking with a coworker this afternoon. I asked how things were going – knowing that she is facing bankruptcy and a divorce at the same time. She shared that things were not going too well … and that she had thought about coming to me to get some encouragement. What does one say to a person whose life is in such turmoil? She told me that she awakens in the middle of the night and is gripped by anxiety. It is easy for us to say “trust in God” but when month after month has gone by … and trust in God has not yet come to fruition; a person’s faith can weaken. We agreed to talk on Friday … she was bogged down with work at the time. I don’t know how God will lead … but I know He will. Of course, I covet your prayers for both of us.

I know I talked about this yesterday … but sometimes I like to go back through and break up the clods. That is a Southern garden term. When we hand dig a garden, our first turning of soil leaves big old clods of dirt that need a second and third turning to become smooth. Sometimes, when I zip through a passage, I leave a lot of clods that I need to break up so I understand it better.

Joshua had to have been scared. Moses, the great leader and giver of the Law, was dead. God was telling Joshua that he was to lead the people of Israel into the Promised Land. You will recall that Israel had spent forty years in the wilderness, wandering around, waiting for an unfaithful generation to die out. Once before, Israel had stood at the borders of the Promised Land. Rather than trust God and move forward, they had sent in twelve spies to check out the land. Ten of the twelve came back with reports of how big the people who occupied the land were. Joshua and Caleb, on the other hand, came back with good reports because they did not see the inhabitants as obstacles – God had promised the land to them. A consensus was taken … and Israel ended up wandering in the wilderness for forty years.

Sometimes God leads us to the “Promised Land” … and all we can see are the obstacles. But I digress. Joshua had to have been scared. Let’s go over that passage again:

Joshua 1
Joshua Installed as Leader
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Now let’s list the promises of God to Joshua:
1. “I will give you every place where you set your foot.” The thought comes to me that Joshua wouldn’t have gotten anything if he hadn’t started walking. Likewise, we aren’t going to see the power of God in our lives if we don’t’ put a little faith in what He has promised us.
2. “No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life.” Joshua would be victorious. We will be too – if we trust Him.
3. “As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you or forsake you.” Joshua had seen how God had been with Moses when Moses faced down the Pharaoh. Joshua had walked through the Red Sea on dry land – and then seen the army of the Pharaoh bog down in the mud at the very spot he had just left. He had walked every mile with Moses – and Joshua knew what God meant. We do too. We aren’t unaware of God’s capability. As God was with Joshua, so shall He be with you … and with me.

So, when God then tells Joshua to be strong and be courageous, Joshua has a point of reference and set of promises that he can rely upon. And so do we. In a sense, when we get into the middle of a storm, and we go to God – sticking our nose into His face – He never fails to give us reassurance in the middle of a storm.

God is so good to all of us every day. I praise His wonderful name.

Agape’


Mr. Jim

P.S.: I am writing this on 4/28 at 4:15 a.m. The storms were strong last night all over north Georgia. A number of people had damage from the tornadoes, the wind, and the hail. But we got through and are safe. Praise the Lord for His protection during the storm. Pray for those who suffered damage in the storm.