To be fully HUMAN — A Daily Reflection

 

Joshua 7:7-9 NIV

 

And Joshua said, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan !  O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies?  The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?"

 

Joshua was totally confused.  He thought God had led them into the Promised L’and, had taken them across the Jordan on dry ground even though the river was at flood stage, and had miraculously knocked down the walls of Jericho .  But now this tiny, insignificant city of Ai had routed three thousand of Israel ’s best.  How could that be?  Unless, perhaps, Joshua had mis-read the signs.  Maybe he had been wrong.  Maybe they weren’t supposed to be in Canaan .  Maybe they had imagined all that miraculous business just a short time ago.  Maybe they should’ve stayed put on the other side of the Jordan .

 

This passage was a real eye-opener for me.  I had always thought of Joshua as a mighty man of God, someone who was totally sure of himself and of his relationship with God, someone who was never rattled, never in doubt.  But right there, in black and white, is written evidence that even Joshua got confused.  Even Joshua was frightened at times.

 

Have you ever had a circumstance in your life where you thought you’d been moving along just like God wanted you to?  Everything was perfect.  Everything was falling right into place.  You’d prayed about it, gotten wise counsel, read the Word for guidance.  Everything seemed to be right.  So you headed down that path lickety-split, absolutely certain that you were headed in the direction God intended.  So sure, in fact, that you stopped consulting Him.  After all, He put you on that track, so it had to be the right one, right?  Then BAM.  The whole situation started disintegrating right before your eyes.  And you couldn’t understand why…  You couldn’t comprehend what had happened…  Could it be that things were falling apart because of your overconfidence?  Because you began to neglect consulting the Lord about the situation?  Or maybe you did consult the Lord, but He caused another outcome for reasons of His own.

 

Instant confusion, right?  Suddenly, it’s very easy to relate to Joshua at this point in his life, isn’t it?  What should you do?  You should do what Joshua did, talk to God about the problem.  Be honest with Him.  He knows your heart anyway, so express your confusion.  Express your true feelings.  God welcomes this kind of prayer, this honest intimacy with Him.  Through this kind of honest prayer, you are acknowledging His power and knowledge.  You are acknowledging Him truly as your father and your God.  Do this, and your confusion will be replaced with wisdom and understanding, and you will have taken the twelfth big step in learning to live by faith.

 

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.  James 1:5-8