Are You Facing Jericho? – Joshua 5:13-15

13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, "Are You for us or for our adversaries?" 14 So He said, "No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come." And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, "What does my Lord say to His servant?" 15 Then the Commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, "Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy." And Joshua did so. Joshua 5:13-15

Joshua found himself standing before the great wall of Jericho.  I imagine as he was sizing up the city he began to think, “how can we compass this great wall to destroy our enemy?”.  Maybe he was like me when faced with a large obstacle and he began to get nervous, fearing the task would prove too much. After all, that wall was big and strong and it sure wasn’t going anywhere!

As Joshua stood their in deep thought he noticed a man standing with a drawn sword.  He approached the man, perhaps with his hand on his own sword and asked, “are you on our side, or their side?”.  It was with the man’s reply that Joshua realized who he was talking to, “captain of the Lord of host” none other than the pre-incarnate Christ.  As God had come down and appeared before Moses with a burning bush and given him commands, now Joshua was being commissioned with a task by God Himself.  What great trembling and joy it must be to physically stand before the mighty God of the universe.

Now I want you to take note that the Lord did not say to Josh, “yeah, I’m on your side!”.  Instead with the Lord’s response Joshua realized that He did not come down to play on a side and be a team player; the Lord was the Captain and it was His side that Joshua must be on, not vice verse.  The Lord gave Joshua instructions to defeat Jericho; when the orders where carried out the Lord struck down the wall of Jericho to rubble and Joshua and the army of Israel defeated their enemy.

Have you come up against a large, unmovable wall in your life? Are you standing there thinking about how there is no way to overcome this obstacle?  Look to the Lord!  If you are on His side and obediently walking with Him and seeking His will then He will take down that wall.  Don’t get caught up with how God is going to do it, just be obedient to His direction.  Remember Joshua never touched the wall of Jericho; he didn’t strike it at its foundations nor strategically plan out its fall.  No, Joshua simply was obedient and allowed God to tear down the wall.  Great was the fall of that wall and great will be the fall of any obstacle that stands between you and the will of God!  Expect the miraculous! 

The Value of Good Council – Exodus 18:23-24

If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace." So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. Exodus 18:23-24 (NKJV)

I have always been very independent; to a fault.  When I was younger and I was working on a school project I didn’t want any help. I wanted to do things all by myself and figure them out all alone. Otherwise I felt like I was cheating or else proving that I wasn’t good enough to do it on my own.  I have since learned (well to an extent) that it is unwise to try and conquer ever battle alone.  I praise God that in my own life, He has surrounded me by a plethora of mentors and guides to help me along the way.

If you are like me you don’t like to admit you need help or even correction.  It’s a pride issue.  For a long time I based my self worth in what I could do, in how much I could accomplish, and how I didn’t need anyone to help me.  Even after I became a Christian I took on the idea that I was God’s wingman; together we could accomplish any task.  It didn’t take long for me to realize the value behind good advice and council. 

Turns out that God’s, self proclaimed “wingman” is an A+, top notch, protos if you will: screw-up!  The boy who didn’t need any help found himself confused and afraid.  Thankfully to God I had a wonderful father who always took me to God’s word and said, “Let’s see what God has to say about it!”.  He would then discuss with me the issue at hand; I always felt better and more equipped to handle whatever was going on after a good “God Talk” with my dad.   Since I lost my dad, God has placed many other people in my life that have helped me to learn and grow in Him.  I too like Moses have been blessed with a Daddy-in-Law whom is full of Godly wisdom and love for me.  Thanks David!

Do you have mentors who are helping you through the day by day?  If not you need to find some now! Don’t worry the best ones are always willing to be there for you and advise you in Godly wisdom.  Just make sure that you remember this wisdome I picked up from a Biblical Leadership conference in college with Kevin Greer.

A Christian mentor is an older more mature friend, one who is dedicated to God and is growing in their own faith in Jesus Christ.  He or she is an encourager, as well as one who can be trusted.  A good mentor is one who is in love with Jesus and desires to help others to become more like Him.  

A Monster’s Focus! Philippians 3:7-8

I once thought all these things were so very important, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I may have Christ. Philippians 3:7-8 (NLT)

In the movie "Monsters Inc" Sully finds himself in a tough spot.  He and Mike have been banished to the Himalayas.  Sully realizes that the only thing that is important is to save Boo. Everything else they have worked for no longer matters.  Mike however just wants to go back to his life; he wishes they never met Boo.  Sully finds a way down the mountain and Mike tells him he is on his own if he is going that way. Sully makes the hard decision and leaves to save Boo alone.

There will be times in your walk with Christ when the direction God is calling you may seem strange or even foolish to those around you.  Do not be surprised when even some of your closest friends can not understand and will turn away when you follow this path.  Do not let them deter your focus toward God's plan. Remember, everyone else may abandon you but God will always be with you!  I am happy to say that Mike in the movie finally realized Sully was right and got on board. Unfortunately in life this may not always be the case.

Paul came to a revelation much like Sully, that everything that was not beneficial to the cause of Christ was garbage!(Phil. 3:7-8)  He decided that he must lay aside every weight and run furiously in the direction of God's will!  Several of his closest friends begged him not to go to Jerusalem where God was leading. They feared for Paul's life. Paul realized that God was calling him to Jerusalem where he would be turned over to the Romans. He went anyway and was able to spread God's message further. Although it did cost him his physical life, it opened the door for so many to follow Jesus and to find strength in his obedience. (Acts 21:10-14)

Is God calling you to something that is not comfortable? Maybe others doubt your sanity or think you are going way overboard. If God is leading you there, you follow! My dad once told me that God would not lead me out on a limb and then cut off that limb from beneath me. Know that God will always lead you down the best path! Fear not!


Pray

Holy Father I know Your way is best. I trust today in Your will and Your direction. Help me not to be discouraged when my friends do not understand the direction You are calling me to.  Give me the strength to follow You no matter what! I love You Lord and Your perfect will for my life! In Jesus' Holy Name, Amen! 

A Dead End – Proverbs 14:12

There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. Proverbs 14:12 (NKJV)

While driving to my moms to pick up the kids (a road I have traveled many times) I became lost in thought and passed up a turn.  I did not realize I had passed up the turn and kept driving. I then made the wrong turn; thinking I had made the correct one.  I kept driving and anticipating getting to my moms house.  After several minutes I came to a dead end, which in turn brought me out of my delusion. I found myself in the wrong place; having no idea where I was or how I got there.  I did the only sensible thing to do: I turned around.

Saul found himself in a similar situation when he encountered Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. He had been going along very fervently believing he was doing God's will. He was doing his best to stomp out this blasphemous Jesus movement. His goal was to serve God and he thought he was doing just that until he came to a dead end; Jesus revealed Himself to Saul (Acts 9:1-6).

Saul could no longer go forward in the belief that he was serving God in the path he was taking. He found himself bewildered and not knowing what to do, so he asked Jesus for direction. He sent him to Damascus and then sent Ananias to give Saul back his sight, and to fill him with the Holy Spirit. God put Saul (whom became the Apostle Paul) on the correct road; only then did he reach his goal of doing God's will (Acts 9:17-20, 2Tim. 4:7-8).

Many times in life we are faced with different paths we can take.  If we lean on our own understanding, on what feels right to us, we will find our self away from our destination; we will be misguided in believing we are heading the correct way (Prov. 14:12).  However if we will seek Him (Prov. 3:6), He will bring our misconceptions to a dead end; He will show us our errors. Then we can turn and follow Him back to the correct path; where He can truly accomplish His purpose in us.

Whose direction are you following? Do you trust in yourself? Do you trust in someone else's words and teachings?  Or do you trust in God to direct your paths?  Fervently seek Him; He might just bring you to a few dead ends!