Week 10: Trust in God
Weekly Reading:
Joshua 1-22
Opening Prayer
Father God,
I know that sometimes I try to do things my way, and I lack trust. Father, today, show me how to trust the process, trust in You and Your way. Give me the strength to move forward in You and stop relying on me or others around me. You are my guiding light, my deliverer.
Amen
Study
Trust is certainly one of the themes of Joshua. Trusting in God and His promise led the Israelites into the promised land. With community support, they uphold God‘s decrees.
After Moses passes, the Lord instructs Joshua to be strong and courageous. We see in Joshua the author says it four times, and the phrase encourages Joshua to be strong and brave in the Lord, trusting in the Lord.
In Joshua 2:1 - 21, we read the story of Rahab. Rahab is a very trusting woman; she trusted God and His strength. She knows what God has done for the Israelites, strengthing their army by trusting and following God in His commands. By siding with the enemy of her people, Rahab put her family’s life in the hands of God. She brought spies into her house, and she fed them and hid them. She gave them vital information, trusting that she and her family would be kept safe by her enemies and welcomed into their community.
And because she trusted in God, she was kept safe.
As we keep reading, we see greater trust by the Israelites. The Israelites cross over the Jordan (Joshua 3:6 - 17), which turns into dryland like the Red Sea when their ancestors crossed before the Egyptians. The Israelites continue to trust as they battle against the Amakalites when all members, including grown men, become circumcised (Joshua 5). They trust in the Lord, and they follow His decrees.
In Joshua 6, we see the Israelites perform the oddest battle strategy under the guidance of God. We would never expect a nation’s generals and commanding officers to trust the command to walk silently for six days around a city, then play music loudly on the seventh day as a strategy for taking down a fortified city like Jericho. Trust. Trust in God.
Keep reading, and you will continue to see evidence of Joshua’s trust in God
Joshua 10:7 - 11, the victories of the Israelites.
Joshua 10:12, Joshua prays for Sun and Moon to remain, and they do.
Joshua 12, in which 31 Kings are defeated.
Joshua 21:45, evidence that all of God’s promises come true to those who trust in Him.
Throughout Joshua, we see two things: fanatical trust in God and God fulfilling His promises to those who trust in Him
Many of us struggle with trust today. We trust people, and people will always disappoint, but God will not. God‘s promises always come true to those who follow and believe.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart. God has a plan for us, a divine plan created for those who trust and believe. Where we get stuck is that our plan gets in the way, our agenda, our goals, and our desires get in the way of God’s supreme plan. Because we focus on what we want versus what God has planned for us, we become disappointed, disenchanted, and miss God’s blessings.
Today, let’s pray that we learn to trust in God‘s plan and His desire for our lives rather than our own. From seeing the Israelite example, we know that God‘s plan provides us with blessings beyond measure if we only trust in Him.
Personal story
I find myself writing my own narrative. I know that God wants me to trust Him, yet I still focus on my agenda. Here is my example.
I committed to not working on Sundays and Wednesday nights when I retired. Shortly after I decided to retire, I was doing DoorDash to make a little money on the weekends. There was a challenge: make 35 deliveries over the weekend, you would get a $75 bonus. It was raining on Saturday night, and my husband and I did not finish our deliveries on Saturday knowing that the remaining four would need to carry over into Sunday. I made the conscious effort to do those deliveries on Sunday, knowing that I had committed to not working on Sunday, the Sabbath.
The next day at church, the sermon was on giving and trust. We talked about the two fishes and five loaves of bread feeding 5,000 men plus the women and children with an abundance left over. After church, I spoke with others about the Chosen (a streamed show) and Peter turning other fishermen into the Romans for working on Sunday. Next, I quoted a verse to my church family when I announced I was retiring, Matthew 6:24, that you cannot serve two masters, both God and money.
I leave church knowing I had those four deliveries to make to earn the $75 bonus. Granted, thinking about everything that just happened: the message, talking about the show, then quoting the Bible verse, I still decided to make the four deliveries. I instantly realized that’s exactly what I was doing: I was putting money before God. I was serving two masters. And we see which one I was serving: money. I immediately stopped what I was doing and went home knowing that the $75 could never make up for the favor of God.
Closing Prayer
Father God,
Today I choose to trust in Your ways, to stop putting roadblocks in that take away from my potential to grow in You. When I try to push my plan forward, I am pushing Your plan aside. Father, open my mind and heart up to Your plan and what You want for my life. Instead of my constant pushing, show me how to relax and follow Your plan. Take away my fear of being let down, as those feelings are with people and not because of You. Show me how to trust Father, for You, Father, are faithful.
Amen
Homework
Are you following God’s command in your life?
What do you need to turn over to God to trust more fully?
