Joshua, James and Me

Joshua 1:6-9

New International Version (NIV)

6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.

7 “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. 8 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. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for theLord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Be strong and courageous. Easier said than done at times, if not most of the time when we are faced with things we are afraid of. While we can cling to and believe and know God is with us and will not let us fall; while we know he will care for us and take care of all He knows we need if we just trust Him, life can still be one scary place.

Joshua was in a much different set of circumstances than I am - I'm not being called to lead many across the Jordan river nor fill the shoes of someone like Moses but am in a situation where, depending on how things go, has me concerned and fearful.

My fears come and go sometimes hour to hour it seems. Scenarios play out in my head of so many different "what ifs". Some days it is easier than others to think of a bad "what if" but end it with "...and God will take care of that one, no problem. Moving on!"

I also think of James.

James 1:2-4

New International Version (NIV)

Trials and Temptations

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:12

12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

"Consider it pure joy" is uh well yeah, really? Be happy because we are experiencing a whirlwind of trials? I would say no, it isn't pure joy in the trials themselves but how we work through them and lean on God to solve them that is the pure joy. Knowing we have Him there to take our burdens if we just give them over is pretty sweet! Knowing he is blessing us as we remain faithful to Him through any storm we are faced with - SUPER SWEET!

Proverbs 3:5-6

New International Version (NIV)

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.

"Lean not on your own understanding;" not exactly easy for us imperfect humans who want to control everything to do. It's downright hard to submit to God and His ways when sometimes we can't even understand them. We know they are right and just and truth but even then, it's darn scary at times.

I have been through some pretty rotten stuff in my lifetime so far. Some of the worst times I went through I did so without having had accepted Christ as my Savior. Even then God was keeping his eye on me because when I didn't believe in Him, He had all the faith in the world in me. Now that I have and continue to develop my relationship with Him, I have so much more to cling to when times are bad.

So do I consider my circumstances today "pure joy"? Uhhhh, honestly not really BUT I know God allowed (note I said allowed and not caused as God will NEVER cause you pain or sorrow - big difference between causing it and allowing it to happen) my circumstances to occur because He loves me and is going to use these times to strengthen my faith in Him. Seriously, knowing what Job went through I almost feel like a big old sissy complaining and worrying about my problems.

While my trust in His Word is firm, I am still human and will keep getting scared and worried and wonder what the future is bringing. It's easy to follow Him when things are good but it is a whole other story to keep true when things are pretty lousy. Thing is, that is when we need to keep true the most - when things ARE lousy. Having faith or being a Christian is not a free pass to a life without struggles but rather the best weapon we can have to fight and overcome all the icky stuff we'll be thrown during this short time on Earth.

I pray the time frame I have and the one God has for us to weather this storm is the same but it certainly might not be. It might not be comfortable but it's still OK.

I pray for the strength only God can give to get me through the times when it is so hard to remember He's fighting this for me and will if I just give it over and let Him.

I continue to pray for many I love and care for who, like me, are going through some pretty icky times today. But each day, I wake up and thank God for another day. Even days that have much sadness and troubles are pretty awesome to wake up to when you know God is leading you and maybe even carrying you through every minute of it.

Thank you so much God for every blessing you give to me and for your comfort, guidance and protection from the not so nice things currently in my path. I know You will guide me in ways to step over each and every boulder on my road back to a new time when the storm has passed and the skies are once again bright blue.