Will You Be Like Joshua?

Can you imagine what Moses must have been feeling when he announced to the Israelites that the Lord was putting before them the most incredible land to live in, flowing with milk and honey, and they said they wouldn’t go because it was going to be too hard?  

He had been the one leading them out of Egypt, listening to the Lord for them and seeing the impossible take place.  He had been the one that would talk to the Lord and get instructions for them because they were too afraid to talk to the Lord themselves.  He had been the one that heard about the promised land and saw the fruit that the men he sent to scope it out brought back.  And he was the one that didn’t get to lead God’s people into the promised land but died in the wilderness along with all those who grumbled and complained and didn’t take God at his word.  

Can you imagine what Joshua and Caleb felt when he went before Moses and Aaron and shared their faith in what the Lord was saying, trying to convince them to go, no matter how hard the road was in front of them?  

Joshua saw the hard road and yet still took God at His word and trusted that what He said was good for them was the direction he was going.  Joshua saw the flood waters in front of them and heard the Lord say to go put your feet in the water – and nothing stopped them from doing so.  Joshua saw those against the Israelites once they crossed over, and he still chose to move forward and take God at his word.  Joshua took all that the Lord had promised and did it with full confidence and trust in the Lord. 

Emotionally Healthy Spirituality 

This past weekend we started our new series, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, and I used parts of this story in my message because the Lord had spoken to me about where we are in our lives right now.  For so long, what we have learned and been handed down to us is to stuff our feelings, put on a good face, and don’t let anyone know what really is going on inside of us.  There has been a fear to really looking at our hurt and pain and receiving healing and freedom from the Lord because if people really see what is happening in us, they would leave.  There has been a fear that has kept us from returning to our places of pain and receiving healing from Jesus – so we have been a people walking around wounded and believing that this is just the way it is.  

Like the Israelites being offered the promised land, each of us is being offered freedom and healing from the pain and trauma we have been living with for years.  We are being offered a road to this healing and freedom, and it comes with following the lead of the Lord and paying attention to the triggers and emotions that are coming up in us.  Where is he leading you?  Are you willing to go there, even if the road back to the pain and hurt is hard?  Do you believe that he wants to set you free from that pain completely?  

Paying Attention to our Indicators

How we handle situations in our lives is an indicator of what is truly happening in us.  I remember being a very emotional person who would get set off by the smallest things.  I was afraid of abandonment, rejection, and letting anyone in because they could hurt me – and the sad thing is, I believed this was just how life would be for me.  What I didn’t know was that every time I would react to someone or something in my life, it was because those fears and the wounded places in my heart was the exact place that the Lord wanted to go with me to heal so that I wouldn’t react like I was anymore and so that fear wouldn’t be what led my life anymore.  

Taking God at His Word

Like Joshua, I decided to take God at His word, follow His lead back to these places of wounds and step into the freedom and healing the Lord had for me, which was my promised land.  It took many hours of counseling, lots of conversations with the Lord, and my heart surrendered to Him to get there – but it was all worth it!  I am definitely still on a journey of healing and wholeness with the Lord to this day, but the really hard stuff has passed, and my trust in the Lord has grown even deeper because of this journey we have been on.  

Stepping into our Promised Land

Moses and the Israelites of his generation didn’t go where the Lord was leading them.  They didn’t take him at his word and didn’t receive the promised land.  On the other hand, Joshua did take God at his word and saw the incredible land of freedom and healing offered to Him. Who will you be like?  Moses or Joshua.  I am praying that you will choose to take steps into the promised land like Joshua.