shadow

DISCERNING GOD’S VOICE TO FIND GOD’S VICTORY: It’s Break Time!

God thunders marvelously with His voice; 

He does great things which we cannot comprehend.”

JOB 37:5

Sometimes the best encouragement comes through a true story, especially one that shows the mighty hand of God to be at work among us. Instead of the usual format, I’d like to encourage you this week with a true story. Each day the Encouragement will continue as the story unfolds. You don’t want to miss a single day!

 

It’s Break Time! 

I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

John 10:9-10, NKJV

“I thought we’d never get here,” Tom said.

“Me either,” I replied. “I don’t remember when we had so many things go wrong in such a short amount of time! I mean, who ever heard tell of a tire blowing out in the middle of our driveway! But finally – we’re heeere!”

MONDAYWith the waves crashing on shore, and the warm spring sunshine on my face, I could feel the weight of busyness and stress begin to lift from my heart and mind. Our cold dreary winter had finally given way to the brilliant Carolina blue sky we look forward to every year. White puffy clouds floated swiftly overhead as salt air filled our nostrils. With sunscreen-slathered bodies, we looked like pack mules, loaded down with the umbrella, chairs, beach bag, and fishing gear. With our dog Sandy’s leash attached to the beach bag, we headed to the sand without a care in the world. Finally, it was sabbatical time! Now that the mission trip was over, the battle was over as well. There would be no more threats or enemy interference around every corner.

Reaching our sweet spot on the sand, I released the chair slung over my shoulder. Reaching to remove the chair from its encasing, I heard a Still Small Voice issue the warning…”watch out for black widow spiders.”

Instantly I was on guard, hesitant to touch the chair again. “I’m sure it’s just another threat from the enemy,” I thought. At the same instant, Tom and I reached out from opposite sides of the chair to extend its legs. As he turned to walk away, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. And there it was—a very large, shiny black spider, dangling in mid-air, on a string of web. And it was about to reach my leg. Jumping back, I looked closely to see it had turned upside down, with its back dangling toward the ground. A bright red spot flashed on its belly, shining bright as the noonday sun.

I’m so thankful I still had on my flip-flops because without thinking, I started stomping that spider for all I was worth. As it lay dormant on the sand, I peered over it, wondering if it was pretending to be dead. Realizing the only thing left was a black greasy spot, with long legs still attached, I should have been relieved. Instead, an ugly, dark wave of fear gripped my heart, stealing my peace, killing my joy, and stealing my rest …

But that’s not what Jesus promised in our verse today. Remember, these are words from today’s verses – from Jesus’ own lips to our ears:

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

Join me tomorrow as the story continues…

Your Traveling Partner,

Brenda

What Are These Stones?

Those twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. He said to the sons of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ then you shall inform your children, saying, ‘Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground.’” 

Joshua 4:20-22, NASB

RockTraveling to Nicaragua in 2014 was an eye-opening, life-changing experience for me. Getting a front row seat to watch God work in ways that I had never imagined was beyond anything I had ever experienced. I knew I would never be the same.

Fast forward a few weeks and months. Life quickly resumed a pattern of normalcy. Meals had to be made and sibling squabbles needed a referee. The images of poverty and God stories, once in the forefront of my mind, had been replaced with meal planning and story time. Consumed with my own life, I had forgotten.

The nation of Israel struggled with memory loss as well. As a nation, they had witnessed miracle after miracle. They had seen manna fall from heaven, been guided by a pillar of cloud during the day and fire at night, and had walked through parted waters on dry land. Yet all too soon they would forget God’s provisions.

After crossing the Jordan, the Lord commanded a man from each of the twelve tribes to go back to the middle of the dry river bed and take a stone and build an altar, or memorial, to Israel forever. For generations, when asked what those stones meant, they would remember the Lord’s provision and the deliverance of their nation.

Like Israel, we are prone to forget God’s provisions in our lives, but the importance and purpose of remembering hasn’t changed.

God has delivered each and every one of us from something. If we have placed our faith in Christ, we have been delivered from eternal condemnation and separation from Him. Maybe you’ve been delivered from financial ruin, addiction, or a broken marriage?

Regardless of how He has worked in our lives, it’s important to remember and it’s important to share it with others for God’s glory. Through the remembrance and sharing of our God stories, others are pointed to Christ, a legacy of faith is left for our children, and our own faith is strengthened when our lives take unexpected twists and turns.

How can you remember today?

Remembering,

Traci

Stick Your Foot In

And when those who carried the ark came into the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest), the waters which were flowing down from above stood and rose up in one heap….and the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel crossed on dry ground, until all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan. 

Joshua 3:15-17, NASB

crashing wavesThe Lord had spoken to Joshua and His command had been clear: the Ark of the Covenant was to be carried across the Jordan River. Not only was it to be carried, but the priests who carried the Ark were to stand still in the middle of the river. That’s not a big deal if we are talking about a small stream where the water is no more than a peaceful trickle, but this was no small stream. There was no trickling. In fact, the river was flooded. That changes things a bit, doesn’t it? It requires a bit more trust. OK, a lot more trust.

The Ark contained the stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments had been written. To say it was a treasured possession would be a gross understatement. Yet when the Lord told them to pack up the Ark and cross the overflowing river, they went. It wasn’t until the soles of their feet rested in the waters that the flow was cut off and dry land appeared.

I love it when God shows up and shows off, don’t you?

Imagine what would have happened if the Israelites had refused to trust God with the Ark and hadn’t crossed the river? What if they had waited for the river to stop flowing first? I guess they’d still be waiting. Thankfully, they were faithful and obedient.

We all have things we value that can prevent us from stepping out in faith and following God’s call for our lives, to bring us to the Promised Land the Lord has for us.

Maybe it’s our career or our home? The Lord has told us it’s time to move on, but there are too many unknowns. The new job pays less, comforts may be lost, and relationships left behind, so we stay where we are.

Maybe the Lord has stirred your heart toward fulfilling the Great Commission and taking the gospel to the nations? The risks are too great and the unknowns are too many to count so we push those stirrings aside.

Your heart wants to leap at the chance to serve in an area of ministry? You feel ill-equipped and afraid of failure, so you never put yourself out there.

You’ve felt compelled to share your faith with your neighbor? You don’t know enough, your life is far from perfect, and they might think you’re weird. You’ll do it when you know more and if they initiate the conversation first.

Remember friend, God didn’t dry up the water until the priests placed their foot in the flood waters. What step is God asking you to take today?

Stepping in faith,

Traci