Devotionals for the Heart: Faith, Questions and Obedience to God

Are You Sure, God?
A devotional by Carrie Del Pizzo

“Then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.” ~Joshua 6:4b (NASB)

God asks us to do some weird stuff sometimes, like when the Israelites were entering the Promised Land. God had promised to give their enemies into their hands and guaranteed they would conquer the land. But He wanted them to start by walking in circles for a week?

Or there was the time in Judges 7 when Gideon took 32,000 warriors to meet the Midianite army and God told him to send 31,700 men home because they were too many.

Once as a friend of mine walked down the street, God told him to stick his head in a mailbox and yell as loudly as he could, “God loves you!”

And just four months ago, God told me to leave my stable day job with the steady paycheck.

See what I mean about weird stuff? Sometimes His instructions seem illogical to us. Oh sure, when He says that we should go to the grocery store and get food, that sounds like a fine idea. Or when He gives us a little extra cash and tells us to take a vacation, we’re all over that.

But how do we respond when He tells us to drive out of our way to give someone a ride to church? What do we do when He tells us to volunteer as a Sunday school teacher? Why does our blood run cold when He asks us to share the story of His great love with someone who is lost and hurting?

At times like this, I start to debate with myself. This doesn’t make sense. Surely He didn’t really mean it. He must be mistaken. Yes, I know He created the spectacular variety of people and plants and animals and landscapes. I know He holds every child in His hands and put the sun, moon, and stars into motion. I know He died on the cross to save me and rose again to defeat the enemy. But this time He made a mistake.

Or maybe I’m supposed to obey.

The Israelites obeyed and on the seventh day, as the priests blew their trumpets and the people shouted, the walls of Jericho fell in on the city. When Gideon obeyed, he and his 300 men defeated the Midianite army of 135,000. My friend obeyed by bellowing into the mailbox, but as he turned to continue walking, a face popped over a nearby fence. “What did you say?” That man had been at the point of suicide until he heard a loud voice tell him he was loved by God. 

I, too, obeyed and quit my steady job. Four months later, my freelance business is taking off, I’m getting regular paychecks, and my health is so dramatically improved that my doctor plans to share my story with his other patients as an example of the effects of stress.

So what weird stuff is God asking you to do? Change jobs? Go out of your way? Share His love?

And what if you obeyed?

~*~
Author Bio:

In this world of texts, memes, and emojis, slowing down to truly communicate can feel like straining a muscle you haven’t exercised in far too long.

Seventeen years of business experience across a variety of industries has taught Carrie Del Pizzo the fine art of professional communications. Partnering with corporate executives and entry-level employees alike, she has written and edited major project proposals, direct marketing pieces, sensitive client communications, employee handbooks, and user manuals.

Carrie’s love of literature and story has led her to develop and exercise her fiction writing skills as well. Aside from her personal creative efforts, she also edits for self- and traditionally-published authors and enjoys writing short dramas for church presentation.

Carrie is a wife, mom of three Americans and host-mom to numerous exchange students. Italian-by-marriage means she loves to cook and eat. She lives in Spokane, WA, with her hilarious family, who keeps her in stitches and provides piles of material for great stories.