Friday February 27, 2009 KEEP HOLDING!
The LORD said to Joshua, "Don't be terrified or afraid. Take all the troops with you, and march against Ai. I am about to hand the king of Ai, his people, city, and land over to you. You will do the same thing to Ai and its king that you did to Jericho and its king. However, you may take its loot and livestock for yourselves. Set an ambush behind the city." So Joshua and all the soldiers started to march against Ai. Joshua picked 30,000 of his best soldiers and sent them out at night with these orders: "Set an ambush behind the city. Don't go very far away from the city. Everyone must be ready. Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the fields and in the desert where they had been pursued. They put them all to death; not one person survived. Then the Israelites went back to Ai and killed everyone left there. Twelve thousand men and women from Ai died that day. Joshua did not lower his hand holding the spear until he had completely destroyed all the inhabitants of Ai. Israel took the loot and the livestock of that city for themselves, as the LORD had commanded Joshua. So Joshua burned Ai and made it a deserted mound of ruins. It is still in ruins today. Joshua 8:1-4, 24-28 Oh, the joy of obedience! Take note, God told Joshua that He had given the king of Ai and everything else to them. They were there; ready for the taking, if they would just obey the Lord's commands. Be sure you don't miss the fact that this time they got to keep the goods! God has a way of progressing us. We obey for a season without reaping anything. We cannot keep any of the goods from any of our battles. Then, all of a sudden we turn a corner and suddenly He tells us we can start reaping the harvest. Man, I needed that word! I love this book! I love it when God tells us, "Don't be terrified or afraid!" Anytime we see those words or hear them in our spirit we can rest assured that God is leading us to victory. He doesn't want us to be afraid of the battles He leads us to. If He leads and we follow His instructions victory is a given. In verse 18 God gave Joshua specific instructions, ".Hold out the spear in your hand toward the city." Now, I imagine that Joshua felt pretty silly just standing there pointing his spear, but that's okay it worked. God may tell you to do something that looks foolish, but if you will obey He will bless. Ten years ago I honestly thought I heard the Lord telling me to quit my job and organize Woes to Wows Ministries. At the time I thought that the ministry would grow and eventually He would provide a salary for me. Well, that hasn't happened. Yet, as I have obeyed Him and really gotten into this book I see that He is leading me just like He led Joshua - one step at a time. I am to continue holding the spear and obeying His directions. If I step out of line one way or the other I will not reap the benefits of being provided for by my God. I now see that holding the spear in my life represents destroying any doubt I may have about His leading me. If there is a seed of doubt still in me then I am not walking in perfect faith. Hebrews 11:6 says, "So, you see, it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him." Now, I don't know about you, but I want to please Him! Father, thank You for reminding me again that without faith I cannot please You. Set me free from doubt. ******************************************* O. Addison Gethers e-mail address : [email protected] or [email protected] window live messenger: [email protected] aim: durangoadd64 skype: cowboys62 yahoo messenger: OADDISONGETHERS --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Deaf-Blind Inspirational Life Group" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/DBILG?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
