MY CHOICE
--Joseph Bayly
I read those words in my devotional Bible this past week. What a sobering challenge they were to me. They are words that I long to pray, but still find myself hesitant to offer to God. Why? Because I am afraid that he might just give me what I ask. I don't want to fall on my face, I don't want people seeing my inadequacies, and I definitely don't want to fail.
Often I am content to limit my risk-taking to simple things, those faith chances where I am still the one in control … call them “measured risks.” I may fail, but at least my collapse won’t be too public, too precarious, or too personal. I have to save face after all. I am embarrassed to say that I rarely step way out on the ledge of my faith and say, “God, I really don’t know how this is all going to work out, but I trust that it will, no matter what happens.”
It comforts me to know that even the heroes of the Bible had similar apprehension and like the words of my devotional this week, God seemed to know just the things they needed to hear for strength and assurance.
For instance, Joshua is an obvious one that comes to mind. Moses—the leader of God’s people for forty years, Joshua’s mentor, and the tower of faithfulness and patience—had died and suddenly, Joshua was in charge; everyone (including God) was looking for him to take up the mantle of leadership and handle the task of directing the nation of Israel.
No matter how old a man he was, he had never had the complete responsibility of being the one the people looked to for guidance.
He had always been able to fall back on this one thing, “Let’s see what Moses thinks.” It was his safety net, what he had always trusted in…Moses would have the answer. Now, Moses was gone and it was time to enter the Promised Land, full of walled cities, giant men and powerful armies. Everyone would be looking to him for the battle plan. Oh yes, and by the way, he would be leading a group of transient people who had little or no military training. I wonder if he worried about failure; about falling short where Moses had flourished? Did he have concerns about disappointing Moses … or God?
While we may never know the answer, we do get a hint in Joshua chapter one that he may have at least been timid about becoming Moses’ successor. Perhaps it was just that God sensed his trepidation toward his new role of expanded leadership or maybe he remembered how Moses had been at the burning bush. Either way, he puts Joshua’s mind at ease by promising the one thing that Joshua truly needed to know … his presence. He tells him “Be strong and very courageous, do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
It may have all sounded good to Joshua, but could he trust it? He did. How was it that God’s words were such a comfort? Try to remember, Joshua had been sitting front-row for some amazing things that God had done through Moses. Things like, the crossing of the Red Sea, the giving of the Ten Commandments, the miraculous provision of food and water, quirky battles based upon Moses keeping his hands up in the air, etc. Joshua had seen all of it firsthand and now he was promised the exact same Godly presence as he led the people.
On the surface, it may have looked overwhelming, but with those simple words—as I was with Moses, so I will be with you—Joshua took on the challenge with gusto. As long as God was leading him, he would walk out to the edge of his own human trust and beyond with the confidence that God was holding on to him. Giants, armies, walled cities … none of them would deter him because the Lord had promised to be with him.
It is stuff like that which gives me the courage to face the uncertainty of this life in the same way. I believe that nothing will happen to me of which God is unaware. Certain situations or things, as difficult as they may seem can be accepted and even relished because I know that God has a plan and the end of that plan ends up with me overcoming sin through the power of Jesus Christ’s name. Taking my place in his Promised Land of Heaven one day simply comes down to recognizing who is the rightful leader of my life!
Risks that I chose to take end up just being obedient responses to his call and direction, challenging me to achieve his will through the opportunities that he has provided for me.
If I fail, he is there to pick me up or at the very least, to work it out for my good in the end. If I fall on my face, it simply gives me a good opportunity to humbly approach him for comfort and redemption. And if people end up seeing my weaknesses, at least it may encourage them to know I struggle, too. Or, at best, it may magnify the strength of God in helping me to survive my own short-comings.
I can face all those circumstances with courage and boldness that comes not from my own success, skill or strength, but because he has promised the one thing I truly need…his presence as my shield, my protection, my provision, and my salvation.
In Him We Serve and Follow!
