We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations
-Charles Swindoll-
Many of us link being discourage or down to a turn of events or a particularly difficult situation. For me, I think in my life, alot of the times I feel this way is when I go through a transitional period of uncertainty.
I have been thinking...really thinking...
I've been having rather good days and times with people. Being loved by those around me. Being driven around. Taken out to dinner. Learning loads at Willow Creek. Making a wicked video with the Teens. Being able to make wedding plans with friends. Enjoying a 4 hour lunch at the pub with my leaders. Buying furniture and doing DIY with E & E (yes, they're back from their honeymoon!) And I think, the main highlight was the mission conference, where my heart totally broke so many times. Great times. Memorable times.
Yet, I found myself discouraged and down.
I've been alright despite having all that uncertainty going on. Nothing major happened..nothing bad. Just the same thing - no progress in the appeal to the Tribunal, no results yet from the Hospital and the builder did nothing to the flat which means I still can't move in.
Was it tiredness? Was I overwhelmed by everything that I became numb? Had I already giving up the battle? Was it just a feeling that will pass?
I was preparing for a talk this week on a film highlighting that our all-powerful God can do amazing miracles and accomplish His purpose on our behalf against all odds. Never give up. Never lose faith.
It is difficult to prepare to share. I had to admit I was feeling the apathy of my soul. Yes, apathy. That was it. I decided I needed more than just inspiration. I needed a piece of banana cake to cheer me up. Going down to the kitchen was the turning point. The Lo's were having lunch and started talking about their Israel trip. When I think about Israel, the first thing that strikes me is always this picture of the Israelites during Moses & Joshua's time...and I started to get dreamy and interested in the table talk.
The Lo's were talking about also the Middle East situation today were the socio political conditions are rather tense and how crossing the Jordan River from the country of Jordan to Israel is not a “piece of cake”(get the pun??) Careful passport checks and baggage searches can take a big chunk out of the day for a modern Holy Land tour! And, for very different reasons, it was no “piece of cake” when the Israelites crossed the Jordan River under the leadership of Joshua at the end of the 15th Century. The river was at flood stage (Joshua 3:15) and there were no boats and no bridges. Furthermore, they were entering enemy territory opposite Jericho, a major fortress city of the Canaanites. But in spite of the problems, Israel crossed the Jordan River because God had promised them the Land. With a mighty miracle, the waters of the Jordan River were cut off and the people of Israel crossed the Jordan without even getting their sandals wet.
For people in my cell, this will be our journey and my prayer for us - so read on..
Imagine that God has painted the entire 40 year journey from Egypt to the Promised Land as a huge mural, which we may examine to learn valuable truth and lessons for our lives today. Think of the pictures...what do you see?
This mural in my head recounts a most significant crossing for the nation of Israel, a physical crossing that had deep spiritual implications for them. In fact, the word "cross" occurs twenty-two times in chapters 3 and 4 of Joshua (yes, I counted just for fun!) Forty years earlier, Israel had left Egypt only to wander in the wilderness for a generation. Now at last, the nation was about to cross over from the wilderness to a land flowing with milk and honey, the gift that had been promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. To accomplish this, the entire nation had to cross from one side of the Jordan to the other, a task of immense proportions.
This was the climax of this saga to me :
River Jordan lay at the very entrance into Canaan, the Promised Land. Does a seemingly insurmountable problem, a great obstruction confront us, standing between us and the promised success in ministry, between us and the promised healing and deliverance: between us and the promised provision, progress or promotion; between us and the promised recovery of a spiritual loss; between us and the promised victory and triumph over trials?
Here's what this MURAL tells me : Shut up and Listen. Look up and Believe. Jordan is not an impassable obstacle when the God of miracles is on the side of Israel. We can be certain that there is a passage through the most formidable obstacle and you will soon go forward into the promised blessing.
At this point Joshua himself probably did not specifically know what God was going to do, except that he believed God would make it possible for them to cross the river. His faith overruled his fears and his faith was contagious.
Supernatural breakthrough! Exploits! Passing through the impassable! Accomplishing the impassable! All these are possible in our life and ministry, but there is a necessary preparation.
The book of Numbers and Joshua is both instructive and encouraging. God had promised, yes; He had given the land of promise to the children of Israel but Jordan (which even overflowed all its banks) stood between them and their inheritance! Very often, between God’s promise and our possession of it may lie a great problem. Though Israel was faced with a most formidable obstacle, there was no ground for fear or discouragement. The same God who divided the Red Sea is able, willing and ready to divide river Jordan. His methods may change, but His power remains the same.
But instead of making an immediate crossing, there is a three-day wait, and then a call for consecration. Joshua commands the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you". What was changing had to happen on a heart level. It's not just ritual. It's heart. They had to put their attention on God. They had to draw close. They had to pay attention. They had to be available. They had to be ready, because God was coming to do something. And getting ready for God is NOT a casual thing.
Then, Joshua instructs the people to watch the ark, to see where it goes, and to follow it. "Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before" (Joshua 3:3). Now the ark probably only moved a few hundred feet from where it had been located during the brief encampment, but the people were to follow it.
Ever since the people had been given the ark and tabernacle in the wilderness, when the cloud lifted and moved forward, that was the signal for the people to pack up and follow, to go where God was leading. Today the ark -- the symbol of the throne of God -- indicated where they were to go. Notice the sense of awe and holiness about the ark: "Keep a distance of about a thousand yards between you and the ark; do not go near it" (3:4).
The obvious lesson for us is that we are to see what God is doing and then follow him in it. This was Jesus' practice, too. Too often, like little children on a walk, we run on ahead. Instead of being followers of our Father, we want to be leaders. Not so, Jesus. Before taking important steps, He spent the night in prayer. He often retreated from the crowds to spend time with his Father and pray and get his bearings.
Right now in my own life, the question I believe I am being asked is "are you following him or off on your own?" The lesson of the ark going ahead of us is a reminder to come back from our wanderings and to take our appointed place -- following God.
I think alot of us find ourselves like Joshua, where we need to overcome discouragement and fear. It was a very common thing in Joshua's life. Hence we find God constantly saying to Joshua, "Do not be afraid. Be strong and courageous for I am with you" God even told Joshua, I will hand your enemies to you!
Sometimes we feel we are faced with a river and a barrier of impossibility just like what the Israelites encountered that keeps us from making progress, a place of helplessness as we see that big chunk obstacle in between us and our promise land. We don’t see any way through the situation that we face. Yet, the place of helplessness can become the place of hopefulness if we learn to stand still and wait upon God.
God brings each of us to points in our lives where He might teach us how we can deal with our impossible barriers, whatever they may be. In Joshua 1, we read that God says, "Get ready to cross this Jordan". In a sense, God is saying, your extremity is My opportunity to do the impossible in your life.
Rivers and barriers stand before us as Satan’s method of depressing and defeating us. The devil’s main motivation is to turn Christians away from God’s plan for their lives. The devil wants us to experience fear and be defeated. God wants us to experience victory by trusting in Him.
As our cell prepares for our weekend away, I believe it is very much like crossing the Jordan - to step into the river and cross. Why? Because we will then be able to see that it takes to release the power of God in our lives. Joshua 3 shows us how God came through for Joshua and it is my prayer that we will experience God coming through for us at all times too, even when we feel down or overwhelmed.
What God wanted to do was to display His POWER to the people of Joshua. Here's what he says in Joshua Chapter 3, verse 7: "Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so that they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant, when you reach the edge of the Jordan's waters, go and stand in the river."
This is the word of the Lord to Joshua. Joshua's hearing this and God tells him, "I want you to cross over this river, I want you to possess this land. But before you do, you need to take a step of faith, you need to take a step of obedience to me. And when you do, I will display my power so mightily, that you'll know once you get into the land that I am giving that to you as well, so that when you come up against the Cananites and the Hitites and the Jebusites, and all the other "-ites," I will be there with you to fight for you and to be your defender, and I will help you possess the land. I want you to know that I am with you."
So this is what He tells Joshua to do: take your priests and all the people and go stand in the river. He didn't wait till the river parted like he did with Moses, he said, "I want you to go and stand in the river. When you do, the river will back up, all the people will be able to cross on dry ground, you'll get across, and when you're done crossing, the river will flow again. This will be a demonstration of my power to you."
At the end of this, I believe God is encouraging Joshua and us alike not to to be discouraged or overwhelmed because He will help us possess the land, and demonstrate His power through us.
So, I'm continuing this on our private cell blogsite.. but for everyone else, I hope after reading this chunk from Joshua 3, whatever you are going through and however God is challenging you in your faith, your dreams and your passions - your baby step would be for you to say "I am going to do it. I’m going to step out, I’m going to step into the Jordan even though it is at flood stage. And I’m just going to stand up, I’m going to see the water and I’m going to take a step and walk into the river and see what happens."
I've always been impressed by the fact that the water didn't stop until the priests' feet touched it. Sometimes, God's miracles take place ahead of us. The Red Sea was parted and then the people of Israel went through. But sometimes, God waits for us to take steps of faith before the miracle begins.
Jesus encountered some lepers along the border between Galilee and Samaria. "Jesus, Master," they called in a loud voice, "have pity on us!" Jesus' reply is interesting: "Go, show yourselves to the priests," he tells them. "And as they went," the scripture records, "they were cleansed".If they had waited to be cleansed before starting their journey, if the priests had waited for the waters to stop before taking the next step, they would all be waiting still.
Sometimes, we have to do all we know to do, and then God does what only he can do. Perhaps you're in that kind of place right now. You feel God is leading you to take a step that will make you look foolish, vulnerable, and you are afraid to take it. Now you know what Joshua felt like. But he did what God told him to do, and announced what God had promised to do, and God came through for him.
We like to see it before we believe it. But faith believes before it sees. "We walk by faith, not by sight", not because this is our way, but because it is His way.
Our private cell blogsite is exclusive as alot of personal sharing goes on it. Sorry. However, if you'd like to know how I painted this mural of Egypt to Canaan and the significance of the crossing of the Jordan, email me!
In conclusion, very simply :
I have been thinking...really thinking...
I've been having rather good days and times with people. Being loved by those around me. Being driven around. Taken out to dinner. Learning loads at Willow Creek. Making a wicked video with the Teens. Being able to make wedding plans with friends. Enjoying a 4 hour lunch at the pub with my leaders. Buying furniture and doing DIY with E & E (yes, they're back from their honeymoon!) And I think, the main highlight was the mission conference, where my heart totally broke so many times. Great times. Memorable times.
Yet, I found myself discouraged and down.
I've been alright despite having all that uncertainty going on. Nothing major happened..nothing bad. Just the same thing - no progress in the appeal to the Tribunal, no results yet from the Hospital and the builder did nothing to the flat which means I still can't move in.
Was it tiredness? Was I overwhelmed by everything that I became numb? Had I already giving up the battle? Was it just a feeling that will pass?
I was preparing for a talk this week on a film highlighting that our all-powerful God can do amazing miracles and accomplish His purpose on our behalf against all odds. Never give up. Never lose faith.
It is difficult to prepare to share. I had to admit I was feeling the apathy of my soul. Yes, apathy. That was it. I decided I needed more than just inspiration. I needed a piece of banana cake to cheer me up. Going down to the kitchen was the turning point. The Lo's were having lunch and started talking about their Israel trip. When I think about Israel, the first thing that strikes me is always this picture of the Israelites during Moses & Joshua's time...and I started to get dreamy and interested in the table talk.
The Lo's were talking about also the Middle East situation today were the socio political conditions are rather tense and how crossing the Jordan River from the country of Jordan to Israel is not a “piece of cake”(get the pun??) Careful passport checks and baggage searches can take a big chunk out of the day for a modern Holy Land tour! And, for very different reasons, it was no “piece of cake” when the Israelites crossed the Jordan River under the leadership of Joshua at the end of the 15th Century. The river was at flood stage (Joshua 3:15) and there were no boats and no bridges. Furthermore, they were entering enemy territory opposite Jericho, a major fortress city of the Canaanites. But in spite of the problems, Israel crossed the Jordan River because God had promised them the Land. With a mighty miracle, the waters of the Jordan River were cut off and the people of Israel crossed the Jordan without even getting their sandals wet.
For people in my cell, this will be our journey and my prayer for us - so read on..
Imagine that God has painted the entire 40 year journey from Egypt to the Promised Land as a huge mural, which we may examine to learn valuable truth and lessons for our lives today. Think of the pictures...what do you see?
This mural in my head recounts a most significant crossing for the nation of Israel, a physical crossing that had deep spiritual implications for them. In fact, the word "cross" occurs twenty-two times in chapters 3 and 4 of Joshua (yes, I counted just for fun!) Forty years earlier, Israel had left Egypt only to wander in the wilderness for a generation. Now at last, the nation was about to cross over from the wilderness to a land flowing with milk and honey, the gift that had been promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. To accomplish this, the entire nation had to cross from one side of the Jordan to the other, a task of immense proportions.
This was the climax of this saga to me :
River Jordan lay at the very entrance into Canaan, the Promised Land. Does a seemingly insurmountable problem, a great obstruction confront us, standing between us and the promised success in ministry, between us and the promised healing and deliverance: between us and the promised provision, progress or promotion; between us and the promised recovery of a spiritual loss; between us and the promised victory and triumph over trials?
Here's what this MURAL tells me : Shut up and Listen. Look up and Believe. Jordan is not an impassable obstacle when the God of miracles is on the side of Israel. We can be certain that there is a passage through the most formidable obstacle and you will soon go forward into the promised blessing.
At this point Joshua himself probably did not specifically know what God was going to do, except that he believed God would make it possible for them to cross the river. His faith overruled his fears and his faith was contagious.
Supernatural breakthrough! Exploits! Passing through the impassable! Accomplishing the impassable! All these are possible in our life and ministry, but there is a necessary preparation.
The book of Numbers and Joshua is both instructive and encouraging. God had promised, yes; He had given the land of promise to the children of Israel but Jordan (which even overflowed all its banks) stood between them and their inheritance! Very often, between God’s promise and our possession of it may lie a great problem. Though Israel was faced with a most formidable obstacle, there was no ground for fear or discouragement. The same God who divided the Red Sea is able, willing and ready to divide river Jordan. His methods may change, but His power remains the same.
But instead of making an immediate crossing, there is a three-day wait, and then a call for consecration. Joshua commands the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you". What was changing had to happen on a heart level. It's not just ritual. It's heart. They had to put their attention on God. They had to draw close. They had to pay attention. They had to be available. They had to be ready, because God was coming to do something. And getting ready for God is NOT a casual thing.
Then, Joshua instructs the people to watch the ark, to see where it goes, and to follow it. "Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before" (Joshua 3:3). Now the ark probably only moved a few hundred feet from where it had been located during the brief encampment, but the people were to follow it.
Ever since the people had been given the ark and tabernacle in the wilderness, when the cloud lifted and moved forward, that was the signal for the people to pack up and follow, to go where God was leading. Today the ark -- the symbol of the throne of God -- indicated where they were to go. Notice the sense of awe and holiness about the ark: "Keep a distance of about a thousand yards between you and the ark; do not go near it" (3:4).
The obvious lesson for us is that we are to see what God is doing and then follow him in it. This was Jesus' practice, too. Too often, like little children on a walk, we run on ahead. Instead of being followers of our Father, we want to be leaders. Not so, Jesus. Before taking important steps, He spent the night in prayer. He often retreated from the crowds to spend time with his Father and pray and get his bearings.
Right now in my own life, the question I believe I am being asked is "are you following him or off on your own?" The lesson of the ark going ahead of us is a reminder to come back from our wanderings and to take our appointed place -- following God.
I think alot of us find ourselves like Joshua, where we need to overcome discouragement and fear. It was a very common thing in Joshua's life. Hence we find God constantly saying to Joshua, "Do not be afraid. Be strong and courageous for I am with you" God even told Joshua, I will hand your enemies to you!
Sometimes we feel we are faced with a river and a barrier of impossibility just like what the Israelites encountered that keeps us from making progress, a place of helplessness as we see that big chunk obstacle in between us and our promise land. We don’t see any way through the situation that we face. Yet, the place of helplessness can become the place of hopefulness if we learn to stand still and wait upon God.
God brings each of us to points in our lives where He might teach us how we can deal with our impossible barriers, whatever they may be. In Joshua 1, we read that God says, "Get ready to cross this Jordan". In a sense, God is saying, your extremity is My opportunity to do the impossible in your life.
Rivers and barriers stand before us as Satan’s method of depressing and defeating us. The devil’s main motivation is to turn Christians away from God’s plan for their lives. The devil wants us to experience fear and be defeated. God wants us to experience victory by trusting in Him.
As our cell prepares for our weekend away, I believe it is very much like crossing the Jordan - to step into the river and cross. Why? Because we will then be able to see that it takes to release the power of God in our lives. Joshua 3 shows us how God came through for Joshua and it is my prayer that we will experience God coming through for us at all times too, even when we feel down or overwhelmed.
What God wanted to do was to display His POWER to the people of Joshua. Here's what he says in Joshua Chapter 3, verse 7: "Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so that they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant, when you reach the edge of the Jordan's waters, go and stand in the river."
This is the word of the Lord to Joshua. Joshua's hearing this and God tells him, "I want you to cross over this river, I want you to possess this land. But before you do, you need to take a step of faith, you need to take a step of obedience to me. And when you do, I will display my power so mightily, that you'll know once you get into the land that I am giving that to you as well, so that when you come up against the Cananites and the Hitites and the Jebusites, and all the other "-ites," I will be there with you to fight for you and to be your defender, and I will help you possess the land. I want you to know that I am with you."
So this is what He tells Joshua to do: take your priests and all the people and go stand in the river. He didn't wait till the river parted like he did with Moses, he said, "I want you to go and stand in the river. When you do, the river will back up, all the people will be able to cross on dry ground, you'll get across, and when you're done crossing, the river will flow again. This will be a demonstration of my power to you."
At the end of this, I believe God is encouraging Joshua and us alike not to to be discouraged or overwhelmed because He will help us possess the land, and demonstrate His power through us.
So, I'm continuing this on our private cell blogsite.. but for everyone else, I hope after reading this chunk from Joshua 3, whatever you are going through and however God is challenging you in your faith, your dreams and your passions - your baby step would be for you to say "I am going to do it. I’m going to step out, I’m going to step into the Jordan even though it is at flood stage. And I’m just going to stand up, I’m going to see the water and I’m going to take a step and walk into the river and see what happens."
I've always been impressed by the fact that the water didn't stop until the priests' feet touched it. Sometimes, God's miracles take place ahead of us. The Red Sea was parted and then the people of Israel went through. But sometimes, God waits for us to take steps of faith before the miracle begins.
Jesus encountered some lepers along the border between Galilee and Samaria. "Jesus, Master," they called in a loud voice, "have pity on us!" Jesus' reply is interesting: "Go, show yourselves to the priests," he tells them. "And as they went," the scripture records, "they were cleansed".If they had waited to be cleansed before starting their journey, if the priests had waited for the waters to stop before taking the next step, they would all be waiting still.
Sometimes, we have to do all we know to do, and then God does what only he can do. Perhaps you're in that kind of place right now. You feel God is leading you to take a step that will make you look foolish, vulnerable, and you are afraid to take it. Now you know what Joshua felt like. But he did what God told him to do, and announced what God had promised to do, and God came through for him.
We like to see it before we believe it. But faith believes before it sees. "We walk by faith, not by sight", not because this is our way, but because it is His way.
Our private cell blogsite is exclusive as alot of personal sharing goes on it. Sorry. However, if you'd like to know how I painted this mural of Egypt to Canaan and the significance of the crossing of the Jordan, email me!
In conclusion, very simply :
- INWARD PREPARATION --LOOKING INWARDLY CONSECRATING OURSELVES TO GOD
- OUTWARD PREPARATION --TAKING THE STEP OF FAITH INTO THE WATER
- Pursue God
- Pursue Holiness
- Pursue Faith
In this preparation leading up to our weekend away, I believe as a cell we need to rise early, reflect and fix our eyes on the "ark", and consecrate ourselves to be ready before we progress and before we go on to great exploits. This is the preparation for supernatural spiritual breakthrough.
And these are the questions we need to answer at the end of it,
And these are the questions we need to answer at the end of it,
- Are you inwardly and outwardly prepared to take a step of faith from a life of bondage to a life of blessing. If not, why not?
- Do you really want to get to the other side or are you comfortable on the present side of your Jordan?
- Have you gone through your Jordan and need to be reminded to set up your stones of remembrance so that when people ask, what do these mean? you can share with them their spiritual significance in your life as well.
This will be a demonstration of MY power to you!!
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