Strength in Waiting
Joshua was the right hand man. He was Moses’ second lieutenant. When the armies came up against Israel in the desert, Moses sent out Joshua to fight. When Moses ascended the Mountain to receive the tabernacle’s plans, Joshua was by his side. Whenever the Lord would speak to Moses face-to-face, Joshua was there. The Bible says, Joshua was Moses’ aide—his right hand man since youth.
When it came time to enter the Promise Land, Joshua was one of the scouts—one of the spies. After forty days, they came back to report on the land. It was flowing with milk and honey. But there are giants in the land. Joshua was one of only two men who said, with the Lord’s help, we can take them. Everyone else wanted to go back to Egypt. They didn’t enter the land at the appointed time. They wandered forty more years.
Now that generation is gone. Moses is gone. Joshua was the right hand man of Moses. He’s God’s right hand man now. God hands leadership over to him. Forty years later, Joshua stands once again at the edge of the Promise. God appoints him as leader with these instructions. “Enter the land. I will fulfill my promise. Victory is certain, yet must be won by your hand and obedience to my Word.” God hands Joshua the victory, but Joshua still has the battles to fight. “Be strong and courageous.”
Every war has a turning point in history. The turning point is an event in which the eventual outcome becomes inevitable. Gettysburg is argued to be the turning point of the Civil War. The turning point of the Revolutionary War is right down the road in Saratoga. The turning point of the promise is on the outskirts of Canaan. The outcome was inevitable, but there were plenty of battles still to be fought.
God has ordered the victory, but Joshua still has a part to play. He must trust and obey. “Be strong and courageous.”
Checklist for Waiting
Throughout this series, we’ve been learning how faithfully to wait. In your bulletin is a summary of what we learned—our checklist for waiting. Now that that wait is over, we come to the last item on our list. But first, let’s review. We learned this tip from the poet in Lamentations:
1. Be honest with God: first name the problem, and proclaim the praise.
Then Abraham taught us
2. Don’t try to force God’s hand, or run ahead of the plan. Here we ask ourselves, “Is there some action I need to confess and change?”
From Jonah we learned:
3. Don’t let bitterness take root, when your waiting doesn’t turn out as you planned. We ask, “Is there an attitude I need to confess and change?
Jacob showed us:
4. There’s always work to do in the waiting. “What is God calling me to do now while I wait?”
Joseph’s taught us to:
5. Look for God at work in the waiting. At this stage, we ask, “What is God doing now, and what is he building in me?”
Today the Lord is telling Joshua:
6. When the time is right, claim it. The probing question for today’s step: “Is there something keeping me from laying hold of the promise?”
Claims Department
It happens time and again. When the time is right, the waiting is over, God opens the door, we don’t move. We just stand there. Our feet are cemented in place. What are we waiting for? When God says it’s time, why won’t we move?
Maybe we just don’t see it. Would we recognize the right time if it came up and slapped us in the face? We’ve been waiting so long, our spiritual ears have grown dull. Our eyes have become blind to the Spirit’s movement. Now the wait is finally over. We don’t move, because we don’t recognize the time.
Maybe we think we don’t deserve it. Lord, are you sure it’s me you want? Wouldn’t someone else do better? Surely I don’t deserve it. You know me. You know what I am, what I’ve done. Now the wait is over. We don’t move, because we don’t think we deserve what God has in store.
Maybe we just feel too at home with the familiar. The current situation may be bad, but it’s all we know. Status quo is our comfort food. It’s like when God provided for the Israelites in the wilderness, they still complained. “If only we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost-- also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic” (Numbers 11:4-5). A little hardship comes, and they long for the familiar—slavery in Egypt. It’s human nature to be at home with the familiar. Doctors and psychiatrists know this dynamic well. Those who need medicine to be well often stop taking it because, ‘I don’t like the way it makes me feel.’ What we feel is healing taking place. Now, the wait is over. We don’t move because we’re at home with the familiar. It feels different.
Maybe we don’t move because we don’t think we can do it. There are giants in the land. We can’t go in. You know, it’s much easier to think someone else can do it. Every church has at least one person that goes by this one name. In fact, it’s the most common name found on church membership roles. Do you know what it is? Whydon’they. Whydon’they do something about this? Whydon’they come? Whydon’they just step up? Whydon’they has a step brother. His name is: Whydin’they. He causes a lot of trouble. It’s always easier to expect someone else to do it. Sometimes we expect God to do what he’s asking us to do. Now wait is over. We don’t move because we don’t think we can do it.
What are we waiting for? Even when the victory is sure, we don’t fight the battle. We need help.
Three Cheers
Let’s hear three cheers for Joshua. That’s what God gives him in this passage. God knows human nature. God gives Joshua three cheers to Joshua. He repeats these words of encouragement to him. “Be strong and courageous.”
“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them” (Joshua 1:6).
One time.
“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go” (Joshua 1:7).
Two times.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).
Three times. Do you think he’s beginning to get the picture? God is giving him words of great courage.
Everyone needs a little encouragement every now and then. John Ortberg puts it this way. Every life needs a cheering section. So we're going to give you one right now
I could listen to that all day. Imagine hearing that when you get up in the morning, everytime you go to work, going to the grocery store. Way to go! You can do it! Come on, we’re cheering for you!
If you’ve ever been to a little league sporting event, you know sometimes cheering goes terribly wrong. The result in West Hartford was a rule called: Silent Sidelines. According to an October 2010 report, parents were getting out of hand at the Youth Football League. This is for seven to nine year olds. They say the “interfering chatter, yelling, catcalling, from the spectators to the coaches and players has resulted in silent sidelines for all eight teams at the mites and pee-wee levels.” This cheering ban came as a result from an embarrassing incident being caught on video and posted on YouTube. The news report claimed silence didn’t dampen the parents’ spirit. One parent could be seen holding up a sign reading, “Fist Bump.” One interviewed said she was a little put off at first, but admitted it was nice to hear the referees’ calls.
Are we, the Church, a cheering section? Or are we on the silent sidelines? Worse yet, do we tear each other down? It’s way too tempting to play Monday morning quarterback, when we should be cheering one another on.
Be strong and courageous. You can do it! We claim the promise with the power of his presence. You can do it, because the Lord is with you.
Theology of Prepositions
I don’t know about you. You might not be a grammar geek. But I have a soft spot in my heart for prepositions.
There are over 100 prepositions in the English language. As you probably know, prepositions describe the relationship of a noun, pronoun, or phrase to other words in the sentence. There are prepositions of place: above, below, in, out. There are prepositions of time: at, on, about. There are prepositions of movement: from, away, toward. A preposition explains the spatial, temporal, and logical relationship of one thing to another.
In theology, the preposition is the unsung hero. In the grammar of theology, God is always the subject. Everything else is the predicate. The rest of theology hangs on the prepositions. They describe God’s relationship with us.
Case in point, the simple yet profound prepositions: in, through, because, and with. The New Testament letters spill a lot of ink describing the theological relationship with these simple words—in, because, through, with. We are in Christ Jesus—preposition of place. That relationship is only realized through the power of the Holy Spirit. Because the Father sent the Son to live as one of us, die for all of us, and rise victorious. All those prepositions explain one holy promise. God is with us. In/through/because/with…we are in Christ, through the Holy Spirit, because of his victory, God is with us.
Emmanuel--God with us
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).
In two weeks, we begin the season of Lent. That’s the season we see Jesus our Emmanuel—God with us. Jesus is with us in the struggle. Jesus is with us in temptation. Jesus is with us in the pain. The Eternal God is with us in life, ministry, pain, and death. After he rose again, he gave us this promise. It echoes the one given to Joshua before entering the Promised Land.
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).
He gives us the promise with the power of his presence. The victory over sin and death is already won. The victory over this lifetime is already won. But there are battles yet to fight. Be strong and courageous. God is with us.