Exercising patience means waiting. Generally, we have two ways in which we can wait - with fear and anxiety or with great anticipation and excitement. The condition in which we wait often coincides directly with the way in which we are related to God. If we are out of sync, we are going to be truly worried about the outcome and will attempt to take matters into our own hands. Conversely, if we are "right with God," we can wait and watch for how he is going to work in the situations we face. We can anticipate his plan with the same difficult-to-contain excitement of a child awaiting Christmas morning, or we can agonize with the "wait 'til your father gets home" fear and dread!
God commanded Joshua and the children of Israel to prepare to take Jericho. This involved becoming "purified" before God, honoring and revering his presence among them, and following some rather unconventional tactics of warfare. A key to learning to wait with patient anticipation to "...see the salvation of the Lord..." (Exodus 14:13; II Chronicles 20:17) is to sanctify or purify ourselves (to have a right heart) before him. Joshua told the children of Israel, "Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you" (Joshua 3:5). God does great and wondrous things in our lives when we are obedient to him; when we aren't, we prevent him from blessing our lives (see Joshua 7).
With God present among the Israelites, they were ready to pass into the Land of Canaan that he had promised them. He commanded Joshua to have the Levite priests carry the Ark of the Covenant, God's symbol of his holy presence, into the Jordan River. As long as the priests stood in the Jordan with the Ark, the people were able to cross on dry land (Joshua 3:11-17). When the people prepared to take Jericho, God was there, as the priests led the procession around the walls of the city (Joshua 6:11). God, present in any situation of our lives, leading the charge, results in victory. In the words of David, "For by You I can run against a troop; by my God I can leap over a wall" (II Samuel 22:30, Psalm 18:29). Nothing is too great for God; we just have to let him lead!
Marching around the walls of Jericho once a day for six days, with trumpets blowing, and then repeating the same pattern on the seventh day for seven circuits with a shout added the last time around doesn't seem like a plan for successfully taking the city and routing the people (Joshua 6:1-21). But, it was God's plan, and Joshua insisted that the people follow it as ordered. Sure enough, on the seventh time around when the trumpets sounded, the children of Israel gave up a shout of victory, and the walls of Jericho fell. The people were victorious because they did as God commanded.
God doesn't always act in ways that make sense to us. In Isaiah 55:8, God says, "I don't think the way you think. The way you work isn't the way I work." Sometimes he wants us to do things that run counter to what we believe is a rational course of action. It's in these times that our patience is truly tested. We can become anxious and step out in our own wisdom trying to fix the situation, or we can wait excitedly, anticipating what God will do. Walls fall when we wait on God!
Lord, I don't like waiting! But, thank you for giving me plenty of "opportunities" to develop patience and a desire to wait for your leading and to follow it. You have a plan, it's perfect, and I want to be in obedience to you. Thank you for your patience with me. Thank you for making right the messes I've made by rushing ahead of you. Thank you, Lord, because in all things you are amazing!
Showing posts with label sactify. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sactify. Show all posts
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Parenting - Seeking God's Presence: It's a Process -Part I
We live in a society of people that are in a hurry and looking for short cuts to reach their goals. Instead of getting the proper amount of rest a body needs, we chug "energy drinks" to keep us going. Rather than eat healthily and exercise to stay fit, we indulge in fast food, calorie-free beverages, and "metabolism enhancers" to help us fit in our jeans. "Saving up" for whatever luxury we long for is a concept relegated to history for far too many of us. The credit card industry has made it attractive and easy to "buy now and pay later." We want what we want, and we want it now, without expending too much hard work and effort. We want to skip the personal sacrifice part of the process.
Sometimes I wonder if we don't allow this assumption of instant gratification to creep into our expectation of experiencing God's presence in our lives. After David became king, he wanted to return the "ark of God" to the children of Israel. As a nation, under the rule of Saul, the people had not given the symbol of God's presence among them much thought. David desired to know God's presence and his blessings. He gathered together the people of Israel to travel to Judah to retrieve the ark. In fact, he had a new cart built to transport it. As the procession celebrated and worshiped before God, one of the men driving the cart put out his hand to steady it. He was killed. God wasn't pleased!
God killing this poor guy seems rather harsh, but David, in his hurry to "get" God's presence and his blessings, tried to short circuit the process God had commanded. In Numbers 4:15, God made clear that anyone who touched any holy thing would die; He described how the ark (Exodus 25:10-22), the testimony of his covenant and presence among his people, was to be transported. This was a big deal! The ark wasn't just any wooden box; it was holy!
David didn't mean to dishonor God; he was in a hurry to do a right thing! But, in his eagerness, he missed a few key steps to entering into the presence of God and receiving his blessings. David had to return to Jerusalem without the ark of God and had to start back at the beginning - preparing himself and the people to be in God's presence.
There is absolutely nothing more awesome than to stand in God's holy presence, to be overwhelmed by who He is! But just as David couldn't go unprepared into the holiness of God, we can't either. We must prepare ourselves. In John 17, Jesus prayed that the Father would sanctify us (make us holy) through his Truth (John 17:17-19). Just as David returned to Jerusalem and got ready to enter the holiness of God, we can too! God wants nothing more than to be among his children.
Lord, we desire to know your presence. This means we have to prepare ourselves to be a dwelling place acceptable for you to live. Please guide us through your Holy Spirit to seek your cleansing and lead us to offer up sacrifices of praise and worship that make you welcome. Please make us holy as you are holy. In your name we ask, Amen.
Sometimes I wonder if we don't allow this assumption of instant gratification to creep into our expectation of experiencing God's presence in our lives. After David became king, he wanted to return the "ark of God" to the children of Israel. As a nation, under the rule of Saul, the people had not given the symbol of God's presence among them much thought. David desired to know God's presence and his blessings. He gathered together the people of Israel to travel to Judah to retrieve the ark. In fact, he had a new cart built to transport it. As the procession celebrated and worshiped before God, one of the men driving the cart put out his hand to steady it. He was killed. God wasn't pleased!
God killing this poor guy seems rather harsh, but David, in his hurry to "get" God's presence and his blessings, tried to short circuit the process God had commanded. In Numbers 4:15, God made clear that anyone who touched any holy thing would die; He described how the ark (Exodus 25:10-22), the testimony of his covenant and presence among his people, was to be transported. This was a big deal! The ark wasn't just any wooden box; it was holy!
David didn't mean to dishonor God; he was in a hurry to do a right thing! But, in his eagerness, he missed a few key steps to entering into the presence of God and receiving his blessings. David had to return to Jerusalem without the ark of God and had to start back at the beginning - preparing himself and the people to be in God's presence.
There is absolutely nothing more awesome than to stand in God's holy presence, to be overwhelmed by who He is! But just as David couldn't go unprepared into the holiness of God, we can't either. We must prepare ourselves. In John 17, Jesus prayed that the Father would sanctify us (make us holy) through his Truth (John 17:17-19). Just as David returned to Jerusalem and got ready to enter the holiness of God, we can too! God wants nothing more than to be among his children.
Lord, we desire to know your presence. This means we have to prepare ourselves to be a dwelling place acceptable for you to live. Please guide us through your Holy Spirit to seek your cleansing and lead us to offer up sacrifices of praise and worship that make you welcome. Please make us holy as you are holy. In your name we ask, Amen.
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