Tuesday, January 19, Joshua 14

Reading chapter 14 (and the next chapters because I glanced ahead) for me was like reading a will, not particularly riveting, but important. Mentally, I began to make some connections with a will.

 

• A will describes your inheritance, which suggests that you part of the ‘family,’ if not by blood, certainly by love.
• A will communicates the intentions of the will-writer. How much he/she cared is communicated in the will.
• A will suggests forethought, a plan.
• A will in many cases is the final word. Hopefully, it communicates love, acceptance and possibly even a final blessing.

Even if every family will does not include all these things, God’s will did and does. As I read the allotments, the inheritances, I hear Father God shouting to Israel, “You are MY family. I care for you, I love you, and I will never let you down!” As I read this ‘will’ this morning I watched as God confirmed that He did, in fact, have a plan and they were living in it right now. Nothing that happened to them was mere happenstance, a quirk of fate, but it was God’s plan and design. He planned way back with Abraham that this land would be their land. And now what He planned He was bringing to pass. I heard in the reading of this ‘will’, God saying, “Nothing you have done wrong, no failures of the past, has caused Me to stop loving you. This good land is my final blessing to you.”

Next the Lord reminded me that all of this is mine, because as a follower of Jesus, His Son, I was engrafted into Israel. As a disciple of Christ I am part of true Israel. And this is in turn for EVERYONE who believes in and follows Jesus. We are loved, accepted, cared for as family… and so much more.

This is where God took me today

[God also suggested that I put a love letter to each family member in my will… my last word of love, care, acceptance and blessing to each of my family… hmmm, a pretty good idea!]

Lord, funny I didn’t expect this kind of a feeling from reading this chapter. It was kind of dry for me but I leave the Word this morning with an overwhelming feeling and impression of being loved by You. Thank you for this touch of grace. Thank You…

I love you Father, Son, Spirit…