Chapter Seventeen - Joshua 12

Who Were You Before You Became Who You Are?

        Joshua chapter twelve is not an exciting chapter to read, so I won’t ask you to read it. It simply lists the names of the kings/territories that God gave the Israelite army victory over as they took possession of the Promised Land. But its inclusion in the Bible is important. In this one chapter, the nation of Israel can find a long list of obstacles that were overcome so that they could live a life of rest and peace.

        As we enter our Promised Land, a land filled with personal rest and peace for us, I think it is important to record and remember the things that the Lord helped us to overcome as He led us into the land. Why? For two reasons: To keep us humble and to bolster our faith.

Staying Humble

        When we enter the Spirit-filled/led life, we will see some wonderful changes start to occur. God gives us victory and success not only over our adversaries, but also in our family life, our ministry life, and even in our careers. As we obey the Holy Spirit’s leading, we begin to find favor in the eyes of the people we are ministering to, working with, and living with. As our lives change, that change becomes obvious to those around us. Because of the transformation of your life, people will naturally migrate to you for advice about spiritual things, family problems, and even career issues.

        This is a fantastic thing, but a dangerous thing as well. Why dangerous? If we fail to continually remind ourselves of who we were before the transforming power of Christ took control over our lives, we will have a tendency to start taking credit for what the Lord has done in our lives. And when we start taking credit for God’s work… God’s work starts to work elsewhere—without us.

        Prior to entering the Spirit-filled life, I was a failure at just about everything I tried. I had great potential as an athlete in high school, but didn’t accomplish even a fraction of what I was capable of. I was expelled from college because I had poor grades and a lack of respect for authority. I went to flight school where, though I graduated, I couldn’t find a flying job that paid well enough to even pay my flight school bills. To try and make more money I took a job at Taco Bell and did alright, becoming a general manager relatively quickly. But I abhorred my job. While at Taco Bell I began gaining weight like crazy, had no social life and because of very poor financial decisions, I was in debt up to my eyeballs. It wasn’t long before my car was repossessed and I was forced to ride a bike to work… which did at least have the benefit of helping me lose some weight. After a couple of miserable years with Taco Bell I left to manage a retail cigar store… where I promptly made the brilliant decision to start embezzling funds from the company. I was of course fired from that job and rightfully disgraced from that industry…

        So here’s what my life looked like when I finally fully gave my life over to the Lordship of Christ. I was in my late twenties, broke, living with my mom, 70 pounds overweight, battling addiction and depression, and for some unknown reason, I had no prospects for marriage… who’da thunk it?! Since then, as had the nation of Israel, I have been through and fought some battles in which the Lord has given me victory.

        Since those battles, I have come to a place of peace and rest that was unimaginable to me ten years ago. I have found incredible, undeserved favor at my job and am as debt-free as an American can be these days. Numerous men and women have sought and still seek my advice and leadership in regards to spiritual matters. I am finding some success and getting great response from my writing. I am married to the most beautiful, wonderful, godly woman that I have ever met and I am the father of the greatest human male born since Jesus! Taking into consideration my life before I gave up control, let me ask you… can I take credit for any of that success?  

        The nation of Israel is about to settle into life in the Promised Land where they will soon find incredible success. Chapter twelve of Joshua needs to be remembered because it demonstrates the things that were accomplished by God that allowed them to find that success. Pastors, leaders, parents, and disciples: If you have entered the Promised Land of Spirit-filled living and are experiencing success, remember who you were before you entered and who gave you the success that you are experiencing. Write it down if you need too… but always, always, always remember who you were before you became who you are.

Bolstering Our Faith

        I grew up in Minnesota where, needless to say, it can get a bit chilly in the winter months. Our home was situated just across the street from a lake. If you have ever been up north in the winter, you know it is not uncommon to witness people doing various activities like walking, skating, ice fishing, snowmobiling, and even driving on a lake once it has frozen over.

        After the first couple deep-freeze days you might assume that the lake is safe for activities, but no one is dumb enough to just drive out on to the lake before they have tested it a bit. As kids, the first thing we’d do is find a rock and throw it out onto the ice… if it didn’t break through the surface, we’d get a bigger rock… if it didn’t break through, we’d get a stick and poke the ice as hard as we could to see if it was solid enough to walk on. If it was deemed to be somewhat safe, we’d very gingerly, one step at a time, step out on the lake, never getting too far from the edge. If the first kid (usually the most gullible kid of the group) didn’t hear any crackling or feel any movement, other kids would very gently step out and join him on the ice.  

        Eventually we’d all know that it was safe and we would very confidently jump around, ice skate, set up ramps to ride our sleds over… we’d play all day! Before long we wouldn’t be the only ones playing… you’d see hockey rinks pop up, along with snowmobiles and cars driving out to ice fishing shacks that were set up in the middle of the lake. (If you’ve seen the movie “Dirty Old Men,” you know what I’m talking about.)

        Our walk of faith can be very much similar to this story of kids testing the ice. That first step of faith can be scary… you may just creep out into the unknown, testing things as you go. But you do creep out, you do take that step. Then something happens… God shows up and gives you victory… the ice is solid! The next time you come up against a slippery decision, it becomes just a little easier to take a step out into the unknown… It’s still scary, but you take that step and God shows up… it’s safe! It won’t be long before stepping out in faith isn’t as scary as it used to be. Why? Because you know that the ice is solid. You know that because God is leading you, He is going to show up, protect you, and give you victory.

       

Chronicling God’s Faithfulness

        When we remember the things God has given us victory over in the past, it makes each future step of faith a little bit easier. Take a step… God shows up… take another… God shows up… take another… Write down those things that God has given you victory over… Remember them for the rest of your life and you will find that your walk of faith will steadily get easier.

        My Bible is marked up with notes and dates; it is scribbled in and worn out. It is a journal of sorts, reminding me of the many victories God has given me through the years. Maybe you journal or maybe you have a great memory, but it is important to remember what God has done in your life and reflect on those things regularly. That scribbling in my Bible doesn’t mean much to anyone but me and probably, like Joshua chapter twelve, is boring to most.   But it reminds me of who I was before I became who I am. It also reminds me of God’s incredible faithfulness to me despite the fact that I was who I was and still am who I am!