I recently heard that whenever God shows us favor, it is always an invitation to a higher level of faith. And that statement has stuck with me, mainly because I am living this truth. I got an answer to a prayer, which automatically meant that I needed to believe God all over again for the next step in the process. The good thing is that I believed from a place of hope… God had already done one thing.
I often struggle with thoughts on God’s sovereignty over matters I hold close to my heart, especially since His definition of “good” doesn’t always match mine. And being melancholic doesn’t do me much good. But I have come to a place in my sojourn where I believe that God is not put off by my emotions, as turbulent as they may be. He pursues us because He wants to have a relationship with us, and honesty is one of the foundational pillars of this relationship.
So I come to Him in prayer, with all of my muchness in tow, and process through all my feelings. There, I hold the tension of God’s sovereignty – He is Lord of heaven and earth and will do that which brings Him glory- and confidence that He can do what I ask of Him.
I would like to draw our attention to what helps me build confidence that God can grant me the desires of my heart – memoirs. A memoir can be defined as a historical account or biography written from personal knowledge. They are your own experiences.
Memorial Stones
In Joshua 3, the Israelites broke camp in readiness to enter the promised land after about 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. But they are met with an obstacle of a flooded Jordan. Was this obstacle an indication of wrong timing? Certainly not! It was part of the orchestrated plan.
God speaks to Joshua in Joshua 3: 10 and tells Him that the miracle they were about to witness was to assure them that God would go ahead of them and give them victory over the occupants of the promised land.
This is how you will know that the Living God is among you and that He will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizites, Girgashites, Amories and Jebusites.
Joshua 3:10
This message comes to people who had already disqualified themselves from being able to take hold of that which God had promised them – compared to their enemies, they saw themselves as grasshoppers.
Although God raised a new generation over 40 years of wandering, perhaps the older people were still terrified. Maybe they had not forgotten the report the spies gave concerning the men who lived in the promised land. As Moses prepares them to enter Canaan, he tells them, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deut. 31:6)
It is possible that they had fractured faith. Over and above the hardship of the wilderness, they had buried their loved ones in that desert, some of whom fell by the sword when they tried to fight even after Moses warned them not to go up because God was not with them. Maybe they remembered that their parents had tried to force their way into the promised land and failed.
God instructed that the priests carrying the ark of the covenant should go first. And as soon as their feet touched the waters of the Jordan, the water from upstream stopped flowing (Josh 3: 15,16). They walked ahead of everyone else and stood in the middle of the Jordan until everyone had crossed.
After everyone made it safely to the other side of the Jordan, God instructed that 12 men from each tribe of Israel pick stones from where the priests had stood and carry them to their camp. These stones were to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever – they were to remind them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of God, and they crossed a flooded Jordan on dry ground. (Josh. 4:6,7)
All these God did so that the Israelites would know that He was with them and would give them victory.
Dependable God
God swore on oath to Abraham that He would give the land where he (Abraham) dwelt in tents as an alien to his descendants as an inheritance. But the fulfillment of this promise depended on the Israelites’ participation. They had to go to war, and then God would give them victory.
As I think about it, it is becoming clear that there is a place for stillness and a place where we have to contend to get the victory. When the Egyptians followed the Israelites into the split Red Sea, Moses told panicking Israel that they only needed to stand still and see the deliverance of God (Ex. 14:13-14). But the Israelites needed to fight to take the promised land.
The Israelites did not just have faith that God would give them the land; their faith had metamorphosized to trust. Hebrews 11:1 describes faith as being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Trust, on the other hand, is not just believing. It is based on historical data. Whoever/whatever you trust in has been tested severally and has proven reliable over and over again.
I submit to us that God was giving the Israelites reasons to trust Him. We can even stretch it further and say that God was building a portfolio of His faithfulness in the lives of the Israelites so that when they looked back, they would have reasons to take Him at His word and believe that He would do just what He has said.
God’s faithfulness is rooted in His unchanging character. And what He did for the Israelites was not just for them; it is applicable to us as well. Hebrews 6:17-18 tells us, “Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.”
Our Markers of God’s Faithfulness
There is more than enough evidence to prove that God is faithful to us. But we cannot see it until we still ourselves and deliberately examine our lives. Every time I pause and analyze my life, I realize how incredibly blessed I am that I get to live this life – there are answered prayers, kindness, favor, and even a sense of the with-ness of our God.
Some of us are visual people and may need tangible items we look at and remember. If you fall under that category, perhaps you can consider getting souvenirs to help turn your eyes upon Jesus. I am more inclined to words. Therefore, I keep a written record of my versions of ‘parted waters’ in a gratitude journal. Every time I read through that journal, I see all the ways God has come through previously and am encouraged to keep believing in God for the unanswered prayers.
Additionally, I keep a prayer journal that is organized into different categories and has space to record answers to prayers. This way of praying has helped me follow the storyline as I see how God is answering my prayers for my family and friends. And, whenever I see items that have been checked off, I am encouraged to keep believing God for those that remain unanswered.
But we are not the only beneficiaries of the memoirs that we keep. When God gave the instruction to Joshua, He said, ‘that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, “What do these stones mean to you?” (Joshua 4:6 – NKJV). God was thinking about those who did not witness the miracle but would still need reasons to trust Him. I think our memoirs can help create opportunities to share our stories of how God has been faithful to us and inspire others to trust Him.
Dependable God, thank you that you have proven over and over again that You are well able to keep us and we can trust You. I pray that you would quiet the voices that instigate fear and doubt and in their place remind us of Your voice of truth – that You made us and we are yours; your people and the sheep of your pasture. Help us then to continually lift our eyes to Jesus and therein see Your marvelous works in every area of our lives.
E.N.
Do also enlighten the eyes of our understanding, and sanctify us wholly in soul, body, and spirit.
Amen.
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