The Journey

Grayson helping us read The Bible this morning :-)

Scott and I (and Grayson!) have been reading through Joshua lately. God has been teaching us that often the point is as much in the journey as it is in the outcome. Yes, God calls us and leads us to various outcomes -- a new home, a new job, new opportunities for leadership and ministry, family transitions, etc... He has a plan for those outcomes and a reason for calling us to them. But He doesn't stop there. He often teaches us some of life's most important lessons on the journey to those destinations.

Today we read in Joshua 6 how the Lord told Joshua to instruct the Israelites to march around the city of Jericho once a day for 6 days, and then on the 7th day to march around the entire city 7 times, to blow the trumpets, and then to shout. At that time, the wall around Jericho fell and the Israelites were able to begin their battle. God called them to this land. God called them to this battle. But first, He called them to march. For 7 days. And do nothing else. Just march.

I don't know how big the city was, but I imagine it took a while to march around the entire thing. And to think they had to do that every day for 6 days, and then on the 7th day they had to do it SEVEN times! God also instructs them to not fight or shout a battle cry until they had marched the 7th lap around the city and blown the trumpets. Can you imagine knowing that you are inevitably going to war, but to not be allowed to act on that for that long? Can you imagine what the Israelites must have been thinking? Why is God having us do this? How will this help us defeat these people? How are we going to destroy this wall by just walking around it?!?! I imagine it was all confusing, frustrating, and tiring. I'm sure the anticipation was killing them, and they may have had moments of doubting Joshua or even doubting God's instruction.

How many times have you felt the Lord calling you somewhere only to feel like you're jumping through hoops or running in place trying to get there? Have you ever questioned God's reasoning for making something so difficult? Why do we have to wait? Why do we have to go through trials and hardships along the way to our promised victories? Why can't God just give us our jobs, our homes, our ministries, and all our blessings, without making us work for them? I'm sure the Israelites wondered this, too.

In the case of Joshua and the Israelites, I believe God was teaching them to be obedient. I believe He was teaching them patience and self-control. Those three things are hard to learn, and we often have to learn them over and over and over. I know I do. We want to do our own thing and still reap the blessings of God. We want to have our blessings and we want them now! We don't want to work for them, or we want to go about getting them in the way that makes sense to us, even if we know that's not what God has called us to do. I'm sure there were Israelites who were suggesting they just attack the wall right away and start fighting. But that was not what God called them to do.

They had to march and march and march. I'm sure it was frustrating and tiring and confusing. But you know what? At the end of all that marching, the wall just fell down! 

God will make good on His promises and He will reward you for your obedience, patience, and self-control. I'm not saying everything will work out perfectly. The Israelites still had to go to battle after the wall fell. But how much more equipped were they having learned the lessons they learned along the way?

I often think about our house journey. You can read more about it here. It was a long, challenging, and frustrating journey. If God wanted us in this house, why didn't He just work that out when we first looked at it in January 2012? Why did He have us go through all the hardships we went through only to still give us that same house in September? Well, we learned a LOT about our marriage, trusting God, prayer, worship, and contentment. And then, just a few months after moving into our home, we became pregnant with Grayson.

I have a stronger relationship with God, a stronger marriage, and am a better parent because of the lessons I learned during our house journey. And I am so thankful that God taught me those lessons before I had Grayson! So, in that case, it wasn't just about the destination (owning the home), it was about the journey.

What journeys are you working through? If you're feeling confused or frustrated, what do you think God might be teaching you through these times? How do you think these struggles are going to equip you once you reach your destination? I promise God has this thing figured out! :-)

Safe travels on your journeys, friends!