Do We TOTALLY Trust God?
“Only fear the LORD and serve Him in truth with all your heart;
(1 Samuel 12: 24 NASB)
for consider what great things He has done for you.”
This morning, I found myself reading about the first battle the children of Israel fought after they crossed the Jordan. For the beautiful narrative, read Joshua 4 & 5 & 6 in God’s Word. Be ready to be encouraged and reminded of God’s mighty power to fight for us.
Joshua, one of the two faithful spies who were sent by the prophet Moses to spy out the promised land, was given the ultimate task to lead the children of Israel into the first battle they would face after they stepped into the Promise Land.
Let’s pause right there.
- They stepped into the land that God had prepared for them.
- The task was not easy to leave the land of Egypt where they were enslaved.
- The journey to freedom was arduous, scary at times, and seemed forever long.
- From there (Egypt) to there (God’s land of Promise) they had to step out in faith & trust God.
- Many disobeyed the God after He led them led out of captivity, & for their disobedience, God allowed them to wander in the wilderness for forty years—even though in reality, the journey was one that could have been made in ELEVEN DAYS!
- Many failed in trusting God, and they died in the desert, there in the wilderness.
BUT GOD saved a remnant to walk into freedom found in the Promise Land!
SO GOD used a man named Joshua!
- So Joshua, the son of Nun—served the LORD with his heart.
- So Joshua, the faithful man—considered the great things the LORD had already done for him.
Let us pause again & read “The Conquest of Jericho.”
“Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons of Israel; not one went out and no one came in.
[The children of Israel camped just outside the city, so the people, the fighting men of Jericho were inside the walls of the city—waiting in fear.]
The LORD said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and valiant warriors.
You shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do so for six days.
[Obedience to God may take time—hours, days, months, & even years.
We must not give up!
We must Trust & Obey God every single day!]
Also seven priests shall carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets.
[Oftentimes, when the LORD gives us a task, we need the help of faithful others, of those who also know Jesus as their Savior, of those who will step in the gap to walk with us, to pray with us, to even “blow their ram horns” for us.]
It shall be that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people will go up every man straight ahead.”
[When God’s Children step out in faith, totally trusting God at His Word, the LORD WILL BE VICTORIOUS! every time.]
(Joshua 6: 1-5 NASB)
- If we stop reading right there, then we just have a great story.
- If we stop reading, then we just have an interesting battle scene told in a first-person account by the man who was present there that day.
- If we stop reading God’s Word and only see God’s instructions given to His servant Joshua, then we will not see the power of Almighty God!
- If we close our Bibles and say: “Now that was a good story,” then we will not ever see the obedience, the trust of God’s servant Joshua!
- If we stop reading right there, then we will miss the amazing victory of the LORD!
“So Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the LORD.”
(Joshua 6: 6-8a & 20 NASB)
Then he said to the people, “Go forward and march around the city, and let the armed men go on before the ark of the LORD.”
And it was so,
. . .
So the people shouted, and priests blew the trumpets; and when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight ahead, and they took the city.”
Do We TOTALLY Trust God?—OR—Do We Just Say We Do?
Let’s pause right there.
- They stepped out in faith.
- They trusted the LORD who led them from captivity & into freedom.
- From there (Egypt) to there (God’s land of Promise) they had to step out in faith & trust God.
- The task was not always an easy path to walk; oftentimes, the LORD gave them a difficult task to do.
- There were times as they stepped out in faith that they quaked inside their skin.
As I write, Jeremy Camp sings his melody “Walls Come Down,” a melody most appropriate for us to hear today. Please pause, grab your earbuds, and be reminded of the TRUTH found in God’s Word!
“Only fear the LORD and serve Him in truth with all your heart;
(1 Samuel 12: 24 NASB)
for consider what great things He has done for you.”
- GOD saves people and leads the lost to walk into freedom found in His Promise Land!
- GOD uses men, women, HIS CHILDREN (people like a man named Joshua) to do HIS PERFECT WILL!
- GOD will bring the victory—as we step out in obedience!
- GOD will bring the victory—as we trust & obey HIM!
- GOD WILL!
Let us pause again & consider the answer to this PERSONAL QUESTION—
Do We TOTALLY Trust God?—OR—Do We Just Say We Do?