EXPAND TO READ: JOSHUA 4 (HCSB)
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verses 21-22): In this verse, You tell Joshua to relay a message to Your people about the 12 stones and their significance. You tell Joshua that these serve as a reminder as well as a question point for Your people’s children, so that Your people can remind them of Your great power and the blessings You’ve done for them. I do struggle with relaying so many great things from You to my children, but I also struggle with keeping reminders around my home of those great events. Please forgive me for this, Father, as I know that passing my faith and reminders of Your blessings to the next generation is vital to Your kingdom yet I still struggle in this. Help me to be better at keeping reminders around my home for questions to be asked and stories to be told, Father. Help me to be better at telling the stories of Your miracles in my life and of those before me to those who come after me, Father.
PROMISE (verses 5-6): Not everything we do in this life is for our own faith and not everything we possess in this life has great earthly value. These men were told to grab 12 stones from the middle of the Jordan, which You enabled a crossing for them. These stones weren’t anything special in an earthly sense, but from a spiritual standpoint, You assured them that they had great value. Their value was placed in the generations to come and their faith. The value of the stones on earth may have been nothing, but the value You placed on them to serve as a reminder of this great event for generations to come was something which You promised them would be great. Thank You for promising great value on things which most people would not see any value in, Father.
ATTITUDE (verse 24): The stones weren’t just a reminder for the Israelites of Your great power, they were also a testament and reminder to the world. In this verse, You say they are there so that all the people of the earth may know that the Lord’s hand is mighty and so that you may always fear the Lord Your God. Help me to embrace an attitude in my life like this, Father. One that truly knows deep in my heart that Your hand is mighty, but also one that has a reverent fear of You throughout all that I am and all that I do, Lord. Help me to walk in this way in my life so that others may be a witness to it as well, Father.
COMMAND (verses 1, 4, 8, 15-18): There are several commands given in this short chapter which Your people are following. I think the overall theme of this, however, is to trust in You fully and follow through with Your commands immediately. You relayed commands to Joshua and he, in turn, relayed those to whomever they needed to be relayed to. He didn’t hesitate or ask why, he just did as You told him to. The people which he commanded did the same, including even the priests carrying the ark being told to just wait in the middle of the Jordan for a bit until all 40,000 people have passed through and they were told to move forward. They were standing with a heavy ark inside of what would normally be a massive, rushing river that could easily sweep them away. Your command was for them to wait, which they did. The twelve men were told to go grab rocks from the middle of the Jordan, which they did without hesitation. They likely didn’t know the importance of those rocks in this moment, but they knew the command was from You and they wanted to be obedient to You so they simply did it. Thank You for these great examples, Father!
EXAMPLE (verses 17-18): I admire the priests in this chapter. They were told to march ahead of everyone by about 1,000 yards until they reached the Jordan river. Once there, they were told to simply stand in the waters of the river and God would make a way. It happened just as You said it would, as the waters would part for Your people once again under Joshua just as it had under Moses. Then, what I feel is the most difficult thing for them, is You told them to simply wait there in what would be the normal path of this large, rushing river until told to move on, which they obviously obeyed. All they needed to do was stand there in the middle of what was just moments prior a rushing river and wait. Sometimes in this life, this is exactly what You want us to do—wait, be patient, do nothing. I know I have struggled with this quite a bit in my life, Father, as I always feel like I need to be doing something. This is not always the case, however, even in my spiritual journey. Sometimes my steps should not be taken until You tell me to do so, because I am not ready for that next step or I should not take that next step for other reasons, such as 40,000 people needing to cross the river before I do. Help me to know when to be patient and do nothing, Father, so that I may abide in Your will for my life.
*DAILY NOTE: First off, I want to apologize for not accomplishing my quiet time yesterday, Father. I have plenty of excuses as to why I didn’t, but no true justification as I definitely could have at some point. Please forgive me for not accomplishing it. I am grateful for getting back on track today as today’s quiet time was an amazing one. Thank You for the great words of encouragement today, but also thank You for the great revelation in Your word. You often reveal to me indirect messages, which I feel is what happened today. You convicted my heart to be more patient at times knowing that You do not always need or want me to take a step forward. Sometimes I just need to be better at living in the mission You have me in at this point instead of worrying about or wanting to take on the very next step. Thank You for today’s conversation, Father. I look forward to seeing what tomorrow brings.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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