Be Strong and of Good Courage

By Tawna Wilkinson

“Be strong and of good courage…do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:6-9 NKJV)

During my most recent visit in this passage of Scripture, the timing of the command jumped out at me. That prior to Joshua chapter one, the phrase had only been given twice: The first being, when the twelve were sent to spy out the Promised Land, Moses simply commanded them to, “Be of good courage." (Numbers 13:20)

And the second was in his last words prior to his death, as the children of Israel were preparing to enter the Land. There Moses repeated it three times, and added the words: “Be strong.”
(Deuteronomy 31)

Then, in Joshua chapter one, while on the verge of possessing the Land, the Lord reiterated it to Joshua – again, three times.

It got me thinking. Why would God save this specific command for the Promised Land? Why would the children of Israel need to present this kind of muster?

God promised He would give it to them, already rife with everything they would need, or want. And not only would it be given, but He promised after they were there, He would be with them, prepare their way, and give them instruction as to how to they were to proceed.

So why be so emphatic regarding strength and courage?

For one, there were giants. Real giants. And those giants, along with the other people groups, being heavily armed, weren’t going to simply hand their properties over without a fight. And two, the cities were seriously fortified, having thick impenetrable walls. Like Jericho, the city they would first encounter. Its walls were said to be 25 feet tall and 10 feet deep.

Those two reasons alone were enough for God to have to rally them with the command. 

However, I believe He saved this particular charge for a deeper purpose. Although He would keep His promise of giving them the Land, His modus operandi of giving was not theirs. They had an important part to play in the conquest.

After hearing His instruction, the children of Israel were to carry out every detail precisely as God said – such as silently marching around the 25 foot walled Jericho for a week, then yelling and blowing trumpets on the last day.

Then there was the time He gave the order to simply sing and praise Him, while standing by and watching, three allied forces annihilate themselves instead of attacking Israel as threatened.

Or another time, while being thoroughly outnumbered, again, He commanded them to merely break a bunch of clay pitchers and do some more hollering.

Or, and in my opinion, this being the crème-de-la-crème: on more than one occasion, God charged them to obtain favor from their enemies by “just” praying.

No wonder He saved, and repeated: “Be strong and of good courage.”

But what’s that got to do with us now?

The truth is God has given each of us a “Promised Land” – individually and collectively. And just because we don’t see the giants and fortified places with our physical eyes, does not mean they are any less real, dangerous, or formidable. Scripture speaks of us wrestling with evil and powerful forces. And it states clearly, the devil is like a roaring lion and thief desiring to devour, rob and destroy the abundant life God promised.

But again, I believe God gives us the charge today, for the same deeper purpose He did Israel. Although the Land’s been given, God’s method of giving is not ours. We have an important part to play in the conquest, as well.

We also are to listen to God’s instruction then carry out every detail precisely as He says. And it may well be things like: silently marching, or breaking a bunch of pitchers, or singing and praising, then standing still and watching; or dare I say, “just” pray?

With commands like these and engaging an enemy we cannot see, it's no wonder we will have to present the same kind of muster.

So, “Be strong and of good courage.”

Oh yeah, and “… do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Good words then. Good words now.

One Small Formula?

By Tawna Wilkinson

Lately, the Lord has been bringing up II Chronicles 7:14 a lot. So I’ve been thinking about it and mulling each phrase over. As I have, some questions have suggested themselves. And, I went on another treasure hunt looking up each phrase. The following is my discovery:

The questions:

     Could this small verse be the formula for affecting real change?

     Does this small formula God laid out really work?

     And if so, why have I not administered it?

The verse:

 “…if my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (II Chronicles 7:14 NKJV)

My discovery:  

   

“If My people, who are called by My name...”

    “If My people, who are called out; addressed by My definite and conspicuous position; My      

     individual mark; My honor, authority and character…”

Wow, Lord! Do I, or have I ever realized what this single phrase is stating?

“Will humble themselves…”

     “Will bend their knee...subjugate themselves…”

Ouch! Subjugate? Do I really bend my knee?

“And pray…”

     “And mediate, arbitrate, adjudicate…intercede…”

The ramifications of this action are bigger than I know. Help me consciously listen to You regarding only what You want me to effectively pray.

“And seek My face…”

     “And search out; strive after, by any method, specifically in worship or prayer, My face (the part   

     of Me that turns and goes before)…”

Do I? Will I?

“And turn from their wicked ways…”

     “And turn back, retreat from their bad, evil trodden road; course of life; or mode of action…”

Will I choose to deconstruct the highways I erected, and start bulldozing Your new roads?

“Then I will hear from heaven…”

     “Then I will hear (intelligently)…I will give attention from heaven…”

I don't even know how to respond to this phrase.

“And will forgive their sin…”

     “And will carry their offense; their habitual sinfulness, its penalty, even them…”

I absolutely have no understanding of the depth of love You have for me, Lord!

“And heal their land.”

     “And mend (by stitching); cure their land.”

Wow, even the dirt will be healed.

II Chronicles 7:14, a simple formula, penned and preserved for me to clearly see the way You, Lord God will stretch Your mighty, intervening hand.

Is One Small Letter Enough?

By Tawna Wilkinson

The other day as I was reading in Ephesians, the thought struck me that this small letter was the only written information the burgeoning church in Ephesus had. One little scroll of truth was to be passed among the believers directing their journey in their new life with Christ. It wasn’t that I had never been told this, but the “ah-hah” caused me to stop and ponder.

One small letter, containing small prayers, tiny phrases and praises of truth, written by an imprisoned individual, guided by a still small Voice. And with that scant information individuals and families, as well as the church itself, flourished and grew. In fact, one source credits the Ephesians church with playing “a significant role in the spread of early Christianity.”

But to complicate, during that time, the city of Ephesus was one of the largest cities in the world; a huge metropolitan civilization in western Asia Minor teeming with multiple religions, politics and commerce. And to better appreciate the power in all “the small”, Ephesus was also the site of one of the Seven Wonders of the World: the Artemision – the worship temple of the Greek goddess Artemis.

Interesting. One small Holy Spirit inspired scroll, written from a prison cell, sent to a remnant of new believers enveloped in an imposing pagan metropolis. And by allowing a snippet of truth to permeate them, this tiny band of believers greatly assisted in the increase of the gospel Jesus Christ.

I wonder what would happen if a remnant of believers in a not-so-big-mountain-town in southwestern Colorado allowed the same small letter, with the same small prayers, tiny phrases and praises of truth to infiltrate their lives. Would that be enough for the eternal Holy Spirit to affect great change in and through them?

When All Is Quiet

By Tiffany Bleger

When all is quiet

Where do you go?

When His voice isn't clear

Where do you run?

Do you charge ahead

Determined in your path?

Do you stand stock still

And wait for the whisper?

Do you turn and run

Back to the familiar?

Do you wander in circles

Moving but going no where?

When all is quiet

Where do you go?

When His voice isn't clear

Where do you run?

Do you lean on your friends 

For an encouraging word?

Maybe listen a little harder

To Sunday's sermon?

Do you beg and plead

And beat your head?

Do you make promises 

You know you won't keep?

When all is quiet

Where do you go?

When His voice isn't clear

Where do you run?

Do you pick up your bible 

And blow off the dust?

Do you listen to music

You think He would love?

Or do you trust and wait

And remember His promises?

Do you know Him well enough

To be still in the quiet?

When all is quiet

Where do you go?

When His voice isn't clear

Where do you run?

Mustard and Mountains

by Kim Beach

 

Faith
Tiny
Mustard Seed
Bigger than me
Mountains loom ahead
What's on the other side?

We must change our perspective
Look at the Majesty
The glory ahead
Beautiful Path
Future bright
Hopeful
Faith

In All Circumstances

By Esther Belin

 Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  ~ 1 Thess. 5:16-18 NIV

During a recent season of practicing this verse, I started reading The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. This book was the perfect companion to this season because I was drawn to examine my circumstances. Corrie hid Jewish people in her home during World War II and later became a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp. She lived in daily dread and constant pressure, yet she allowed her circumstances to reveal God’s power regardless of the times she had no idea how she was going to do what needed to be done. I have read several secular texts about the Jewish concentration camps that were grueling to read because they tended to focus on the evil of humanity (sin). Oddly, her memoir was a blessing to me because of her perspective to glorify God – which many times was prompted by her sister, Betsie. Rather than focusing on each set back, each moment of injustice, the sisters focused on God’s power for daily existence – truly living out 1 Thess. 5:16-18 – by being joyful always, praying continually and giving thanks in all circumstances.

This command is simple yet requires a consistent posture, an intentional effort to make fine-tune adjustments in order to hear from God so that you may do His will. I have the luxury of so many choices, so many ways to worship God/not worship God, to be focused/to be distracted. While I enjoy my freedom to choose, I also allow that freedom to become an agent for the enemy. I am ashamed to reveal how I reposition God to fit my choices. The result is an entanglement of exhaustive busyness – a “chasing after the wind” (Ecc. 1:14). The choice to follow Him requires a keen awareness to the tension needed for stretching my spiritual muscles. When I am “chasing after the wind” – my choice is to forego stretching and sag toward complacency, waywardness.

I am in wonderment of the delicate nature of being in God’s will. At one point in the book, Corrie and Betsie prayed a simple prayer giving thanks for their latest living quarters that included a swarm of fleas! At the time, Corrie’s heart was troubled to give thanks for a flea infestation, but she obeyed God’s command. Later, Corrie revealed how that horrible flea infestation created hours of opportunity to freely witness to others since their work station was so badly infested that even the guards dare not enter. While she and Betsie enjoyed a work detail free from the harsh watch of guards, they also were constantly flea-bitten! During this time of constant spiritual stretching, they were continually praying, giving thanks in all circumstances. The practice of continually exercising their spiritual muscles tapped them into Christ’s power to endure the emotional and physical torture.  

As Christ followers, I know we are not promised a life of ease; we are however able to stand on Christ’s promises – of new life, of provision, of perfect timing. I have been in the cycle of the whirl – chasing the wind – seeking a formula rather than seeking the One who can rescue me from this cycle. 

Corrie’s story is fantastical not because of the suffering but because of God’s presence in the midst of her suffering. Staying in the presence of God is doable yet when His presence involves long-suffering, meekness and temperance, I tend to seek more desirable fruits of the Spirit. I want the love, joy, peace. I want to pick my own basket of fruit! O, how I stumble – O, how I seek shelter under God’s veil of mercy. I tell God that I am His servant yet I balk and tug at the first sign of arduous tasks; I resist eating fruits of patience and self-control. I resist God’s sovereignty as the master gardener – the One who prunes, the One who holds the blueprints of my purpose.  

“He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit  he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful” (John 15:2).  

When doing a word study on this verse, I meditated on the difference between cutting off branches and pruning branches. The cutting off is generally done to branches that are withered and already dead perhaps never reaching their full potential. They are cut off from the vine to allow the remaining branches to bear fruit. Pruning is done to healthy fruit-bearing branches in order to continue the process of bearing more fruit. Both scenarios are part of the master gardener’s plan and both scenarios are painful.

Dear Readers, now when fruits of long-suffering, meekness and temperance are served to me, I fondly think of Corrie and Betsie – sweet sisters in Christ who I am looking forward to meeting one day in heaven – and quiet my soul to be joyful always, pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances.

What do you focus on during the process of pruning and cutting? Are you tempted to "pick your own fruit"?

Writing Songs, Taking Selah

By Esther Belin

I have been reading through the Psalms the last few days, paying special attention to chapters I normally gloss over – like Psalm 3. This psalm is labeled as “A psalm of David. When he fled from his son Absalom.”  (For more about that conflict see 2 Samuel, chapters 15-18.) This notation sets a virulent tone – one of sorrow, tragedy, and confusion. David, the one known as a man after God’s own heart, fully exercises all his emotions in song!

I love how God uses songs as a way to dialogue with Him. Knowing that these psalms incorporate Hebrew poetry and structure makes me so curious to study them in Hebrew – especially because I am appreciative of writing as an art. But I am more appreciative of David as a servant of the Most High God. I wonder at the dialogue between him and God. When God asked David to write about this painful and lonely time, what was David’s reaction? Did he agree readily? Or did an emotional tornado wrench at his body and soul at the thought of reliving that time? 

I appreciate that David not only obeyed God, but that his retelling of this painful time does so in music and poem. Beauty from ashes. When I am in the middle of a painful situation – and I don’t even want to pray (or know what to pray), I can always trust that reading through the psalms gives me hope. I thank our loving Father God that He wants us to be emotionally healthy – God expects us to feel and He also wants us to write our own song of beauty from ashes.  He wants us to be consumed by Him – to refine, to reposition, to rejoice! Crazy hard, but doable (Romans 12:12 ESV).  

Additionally, three instances of Selah are included in this short psalm. Selah generally infers a pause – a rest to take in God’s presence, a meditation.

I love this intentional call for a pause. In this particular psalm, I imagine the Selah as a time to fully cry unto God or fully praise God – either way, a true pouring out of self. I can totally visualize David doing both.   

The verse that comforts me the most is verse 5:

“I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.” When we “cry aloud” to God, He answers us “from his holy hill” that we may “lie down and sleep.” 

God wants to give us rest! He knows the pressures we are under. He not only knows, He sees and hears. Such love. 

The second half compounds on God’s love: He sustains us. Because of all the emotional weight David was bearing I believe the only reason David was able to awaken again is because he poured himself out to God the day before – in tears and in praises.

This is such a good practice. I easily get filled with the weighty yucky stuff of this world – and I am regularly finding out how easy it can be to let God carry my burdens by crying out and by praising Him. The more I take time to Selah and understand God’s love for me, the more obediently I pour out myself to Him. I want to be sustained. I want restful sleep.

At times, I also want revenge for my pain. Verses 6,7 truly speak to that emotion. David embraces God’s command to not fear. Great assurance. I do love the zeal of verse 7. David cheers God on to arise, deliver him, strike his enemies in the jaw, and break their teeth! Great deliverance. David is a wonderful representation of how to lament, express, and seek God. This short psalm literally packs a punch – and I always feel good after reading it. Great relief. 

We are God’s children and He will defend. We are God’s creation and He will strengthen our skills to sing a new song (Ps. 33:3 NKJV). 

Dear Readers, my challenge to you is to write out your song. Song of Lament. Song of Praise. Song of Deliverance. Seek inspiration from David and strength from our Sovereign God. Allow our Almighty, Compassionate Lord and Savior to awaken your heart strings. And please share it – so we can rejoice or weep along with you (Romans 12:15).  

God's Manna is Good for Today

Exodus is one of my favorite books in the Old Testament.  I love the story of Moses and His friendship with God.  I also love how God shows His people compassion over and over again.

At one point when the Israelites were wandering in the desert (because of their disobedience) they were grumbling and complaining about the food (or lack their of).  God heard their cries and faithfully sent manna for them each day, except for the Sabbath.

¹⁴ When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor.  ¹⁵ When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.

Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. ¹⁶ This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer^[a] for each person you have in your tent.’”

¹⁷ The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. ¹⁸ And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.

This was a lesson in trust.  If they took too much it was rotten in the morning.  

I see this as our daily bread - the Word of God - in our lives.  God asks that I eat of His manna each day.  He doesn't want me to try and "store up" extra manna to last for days on end.  He wants me to come to Him daily and get what I am hungry for.  Sometimes I need a lot, sometimes I don't need as much, but each day I gather just as much as my heart craves.  

And the funny thing is that while God's word is eternal and powerful and plenty, I need it every single day. Every day it's essential to eat His Word, read it with the Spirit's revelation, absorb it into my very soul.  He is so good and faithful to provide exactly what is necessary each and every day.  No more.  No less.  It's just right.  

He knows my need.  He knows my hunger.  He knows how to meet me there.  My lesson in trust comes daily as I go to Him, to His provision, knowing that He will provide and His manna is good for today.