The Book of Judges
I'm currently studying the Old Testament and came across something incredibly applicable to me.
This is just one of the numerous, amazing ways in which God speaks to me directly.
After Joshua leads the children of Israel into Canaan to conquer and settle, you see an interesting transition period in the book of Judges. The people of God have, up to this point, been either in slavery or in a migratory status. During this journey they have had several issues they've struggled with. The food, the leadership (although they literally had the best leaders ever in Moses and Joshua), discomfort in moving around all the time, having to be dependent on God for every little thing (the soles of their shoes never wore out), and other such inconveniences.
THEN you have them entering into Canaan. The amazing leadership is gone. They have to learn to grow crops and sustain themselves in this new environment. They are now living among non-believers and figuring out how to stay faithful to their God. They have to depend on those already established to help them figure out how to live in that land at the peril of losing their souls to the philosophies of the unbelievers that are teaching them.
This may sound like, "Oh. Okay, so what? We knew that." But it's so personal to me right now and that I ran across this concept THIS WEEK while starting in a new environment was directly from God.
When God initially brought me out of my slavery to sin, it was into a journeying type of lifestyle. If you've worked with SOULS West and Canvassing groups, you can re-read the first paragraph about the Israelites and completely understand some of their issues (if not all of them). We live such a transitory life with amazing leadership (that we sometimes get annoyed at or speak out against) and are prone to complain about our current situation as a traveler. Our wish is to "be settled" and to have it easy for once. But I'm seeing that the grass is always greener. This lifestyle has it's struggles too. We have to learn to be content no matter where the Lord places us.
And now I'm on the other side-- in the book of Judges. How, in studying this book, will God speak to me about my transitionary phase at this school? I'm excited to find out.
God is so faithful in speaking to His children. Then, and now.
This is just one of the numerous, amazing ways in which God speaks to me directly.
After Joshua leads the children of Israel into Canaan to conquer and settle, you see an interesting transition period in the book of Judges. The people of God have, up to this point, been either in slavery or in a migratory status. During this journey they have had several issues they've struggled with. The food, the leadership (although they literally had the best leaders ever in Moses and Joshua), discomfort in moving around all the time, having to be dependent on God for every little thing (the soles of their shoes never wore out), and other such inconveniences.
THEN you have them entering into Canaan. The amazing leadership is gone. They have to learn to grow crops and sustain themselves in this new environment. They are now living among non-believers and figuring out how to stay faithful to their God. They have to depend on those already established to help them figure out how to live in that land at the peril of losing their souls to the philosophies of the unbelievers that are teaching them.
This may sound like, "Oh. Okay, so what? We knew that." But it's so personal to me right now and that I ran across this concept THIS WEEK while starting in a new environment was directly from God.
When God initially brought me out of my slavery to sin, it was into a journeying type of lifestyle. If you've worked with SOULS West and Canvassing groups, you can re-read the first paragraph about the Israelites and completely understand some of their issues (if not all of them). We live such a transitory life with amazing leadership (that we sometimes get annoyed at or speak out against) and are prone to complain about our current situation as a traveler. Our wish is to "be settled" and to have it easy for once. But I'm seeing that the grass is always greener. This lifestyle has it's struggles too. We have to learn to be content no matter where the Lord places us.
And now I'm on the other side-- in the book of Judges. How, in studying this book, will God speak to me about my transitionary phase at this school? I'm excited to find out.
God is so faithful in speaking to His children. Then, and now.
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