I will be with you.[/caption]Y'all, I was able to garner another strong lesson of love from my walk through my Bible reading this morning. I am excited to present it to you. You might not get excited about it, and that is fine; I just hope that it gives you another positive thought to hold on to in these trying times.
Let's start by reading the scripture below.
Joshua 1 King James Version (KJV)
1 Now after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying,
2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.
3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses.
4 From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.
5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them.
7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper withersoever thou goest.
8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
The love that GOD has for HIS children comes through bright and shiny in the verses above. Y'all already know how it makes me feel when I get a fresh reminder of GOD's love. I can understand how overwhelmed Joshua felt because I have walked in shoes such as his (though not as grand), and I was just as afraid.
We see that in verse 1-5, GOD addresses Joshua and informs him of the death of Moses and tells him that the job of leading Israel across the Jordan is his now. HE also tells him in verse 5 that HE will be with him just as HE was with Moses.
We can surmise that Joshua was afraid of such a big task because the LORD told him in the next two verses (6 & 7) not to be afraid. And then, in verse 9, GOD told Joshua in stronger words to stop being afraid. HE tells him that he is bound to be successful at the job that he is being given if he does as GOD told him to do. Why was he bound to be successful, easy because GOD gave him the task and nothing and nobody can stop a thing that GOD has planned. Do you know what verse nine makes me think? It makes me think, "Bless Joshua's heart," but most of all, it makes me think, "Thank GOD for understanding." That warms me all over, and you know why? Well, the ALMIGHTY GOD WHO can do any and all things takes a special part of the lovingkindness that HE is known for and applies it in detail in dealing with Joshua. It warms your heart, doesn't it? Uhm, hmm, sure it does.
Driving My Point Home to You
There are or may be times in our lives that we feel like Joshua did concerning a task that we have been charged with. With the possibility that in these Covid-19 times, we may suffer the loss of a loved one or treasured mentor, we have to remember that like GOD told Joshua, HE will be with us because HE made our life plan and HE knew about Covid-19 and anything else that might come our way. I never will forget how I felt when I lost an elderly Christian lady that I lived next door to, later my Momma, and then after that, an elderly lady that I called Gran Gran. All of these ladies had been instrumental in helping to develop the core Christian values and training that my Momma had instilled in me. But, I realize that it was not by chance that I was placed in my Momma's home through birth, nor was it chance that two strong Christian ladies took me under their wings.
Now, I just told you about losing a dear mentor or loved one and how that felt, well, now I am going to tell you how it felt to have a monumental task to do and not have those treasured vessels of knowledge to turn to. That is the way that I felt when my husband took on a particular new church work. I had just lost the Christian lady that I lived next door to and was so close to. But, I still had my Momma. I lost her 9 years later, and I was devastated. You see, there are things that you can tell your Momma and they never even get whispered again.
But, I kept remembering the things that I had been taught to do, but that did not seem to be enough. So, the LORD had another strong Christian lady to step into my life. I called her the grandmother that I never had and she was a jewel to me. We talked on the telephone every day, just as I used to do with my Momma. When I lost her, I was sort of lost. But, I can tell you that just as HE was with Joshua, GOD brought me through that tough time. He did not give me another Christian lady to shepherd me on because by then I had been taught to tell HIM everything. I now can look back and see that it was not by chance that my Momma and the Christian women in my life left me when they did; I realize that it was time for me to get on with the work that I was born to do. Yep, that is mindboggling a bit at first, but nonetheless, it's true. It's amazing the things that you can look back and see through the eyes of reason. (Well, we are way over a thousand words, so I will conclude this tomorrow if it is GOD's will.) Be safe.
Walking by faith,
Alma L. Stepping On Carr-Jones
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