A devotional by Wendy Wilson Spooner
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.”—Isaiah 55:8 (NIV)
How hard it must have been for Moses to lead the children of Israel for 40 years, and then not be allowed to lead them into the Promised Land.
God raised up Joshua to give Moses a break before his time was over on this earth. At least that’s one way to look at it, and that scenario brings me comfort knowing what an unbelievably humble and patient but never-endingly strong leader the baby in the bullrushes became.
Moses was born to enslaved Israelite parents under Pharaoh’s rule. Pharaoh worried about a revolt with the growing Israelite to the extent that he ordered the extermination of all male babies to weaken the inhabitants in them. The mother of Moses was determined to save her baby. So, she sent her daughter to set him free on the Nile River, out of the clutches of Pharoah’s command. But the King of Egypt never guessed his daughter would find Moses in a basket on the river bank and claim the future prophet as her own.
Read more about this remarkable true story in Exodus 2:1-10.
Two major life lessons can be gleaned from this Bible story:
Life Lesson #1: God keeps His promises.
Always wait on the Lord even when the outcome may not happen as quickly as we would like. Once the Israelites arrived at Jericho, they were not given permission to storm the city. They had to wait seven days while marching and camping, waiting on the Lord. A deepening of faith comes when we wait on the Lord, our trust in Him increases, and when we wait in faith, listening and following each step of guidance, God will undoubtedly renew and transform us. A large amount of time passed from when God originally promised the land to the Israelites, and when they entered and claimed it as their own.
Life Lesson #2: Obedience to the Lord brings great blessings.
God gave Joshua very specific directions to defeat Jericho and claim the city. When we read this Bible story, it almost sounds like a fairy tale because of its simplicity. But the Lord usually keeps things pretty simple for us like asking the Israelites to merely look at the snake Moses raised up on his staff to be healed and to be saved (Numbers 21:8). It’s we who complicate what He commands.
Ultimately, the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s instructions, and the fallen walls became a crucial confirmation that God was fulfilling His promise to them as they took ownership of the Promised Land. The strategy the Lord provided Joshua to overthrow the fortified city of Jericho certainly defied all basic military logic. Read about it in Joshua 5 and Joshua 6. However, this story shows us that if we rely on God and His ways, He will always bring the best results in every aspect of our lives if we trust Him.
Let’s Pray: Dear Lord, bless us to have faith that our own walls can be overcome when we are obedient to your guidance, even if it doesn’t make sense at the time, because we know you see everything from the beginning to the end. Help us to trust and obey You, Lord. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.
~*~
Note from Alexis: Wendy’s devotional message today reminds me of a song from The Prince of Egypt (movie) soundtrack! Listen to Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey sing “When You Believe” here.
~*~
Author Bio:
Wendy is a Genetic Genealogist by day, a writer by night, and an artist in between.
Her love of what we can learn from history compels her to write the true stories she unearths because she’s found that truth is indeed much more exciting and inspiring than fiction.
Wendy writes about family, faith, grief, art, and overcoming obstacles in life by coming to know who we really are—the children of God, and the descendants of incredible people who paved the way for us—even if they really struggled. Wendy believes in learning from our ancestors, honoring them, and then standing on their shoulders to become a better generation.
As an award-winning family history writer, Wendy’s debut novel, Once Upon an Irish Summer, released April 3, 2020. This book is a dual timeline historical fiction novel about a young, gifted artist suffering from debilitating grief, who finds healing and inspiration in her Irish ancestry, and goes on to paint a masterpiece.
The sequel, Celtic Winter: Eliza’s Story, released November 5, 2021. The storyline goes back in time to the little sister left behind in Ireland to keep her family alive, woven with present-day Beth’s continuing story as she races the clock with the young man she loves to find the only person who could save his mother’s life.
When Wendy is not researching or writing, she hikes, paints, loves being a church youth leader, binges on epic Bollywood movies, and hangs out with her greatest loves—her family.
~*~
Connect with Wendy:
Website: https://wendywilsonspooner.com/
Blog: https://wendywilsonspooner.com/blog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorWendyWilsonSpooner/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendyspooner/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wendy_W_Spooner
Two major life lessons can be gleaned from this Bible story:
Life Lesson #1: God keeps His promises.
Always wait on the Lord even when the outcome may not happen as quickly as we would like. Once the Israelites arrived at Jericho, they were not given permission to storm the city. They had to wait seven days while marching and camping, waiting on the Lord. A deepening of faith comes when we wait on the Lord, our trust in Him increases, and when we wait in faith, listening and following each step of guidance, God will undoubtedly renew and transform us. A large amount of time passed from when God originally promised the land to the Israelites, and when they entered and claimed it as their own.
Life Lesson #2: Obedience to the Lord brings great blessings.
God gave Joshua very specific directions to defeat Jericho and claim the city. When we read this Bible story, it almost sounds like a fairy tale because of its simplicity. But the Lord usually keeps things pretty simple for us like asking the Israelites to merely look at the snake Moses raised up on his staff to be healed and to be saved (Numbers 21:8). It’s we who complicate what He commands.
Ultimately, the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s instructions, and the fallen walls became a crucial confirmation that God was fulfilling His promise to them as they took ownership of the Promised Land. The strategy the Lord provided Joshua to overthrow the fortified city of Jericho certainly defied all basic military logic. Read about it in Joshua 5 and Joshua 6. However, this story shows us that if we rely on God and His ways, He will always bring the best results in every aspect of our lives if we trust Him.
Let’s Pray: Dear Lord, bless us to have faith that our own walls can be overcome when we are obedient to your guidance, even if it doesn’t make sense at the time, because we know you see everything from the beginning to the end. Help us to trust and obey You, Lord. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.
~*~
Note from Alexis: Wendy’s devotional message today reminds me of a song from The Prince of Egypt (movie) soundtrack! Listen to Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey sing “When You Believe” here.
~*~
Author Bio:
Wendy is a Genetic Genealogist by day, a writer by night, and an artist in between.
Wendy writes about family, faith, grief, art, and overcoming obstacles in life by coming to know who we really are—the children of God, and the descendants of incredible people who paved the way for us—even if they really struggled. Wendy believes in learning from our ancestors, honoring them, and then standing on their shoulders to become a better generation.
As an award-winning family history writer, Wendy’s debut novel, Once Upon an Irish Summer, released April 3, 2020. This book is a dual timeline historical fiction novel about a young, gifted artist suffering from debilitating grief, who finds healing and inspiration in her Irish ancestry, and goes on to paint a masterpiece.
The sequel, Celtic Winter: Eliza’s Story, released November 5, 2021. The storyline goes back in time to the little sister left behind in Ireland to keep her family alive, woven with present-day Beth’s continuing story as she races the clock with the young man she loves to find the only person who could save his mother’s life.
When Wendy is not researching or writing, she hikes, paints, loves being a church youth leader, binges on epic Bollywood movies, and hangs out with her greatest loves—her family.
~*~
Connect with Wendy:
Website: https://wendywilsonspooner.com/
Blog: https://wendywilsonspooner.com/blog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorWendyWilsonSpooner/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendyspooner/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wendy_W_Spooner
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.