Well it is just like life - I had planned to blog most days of this 21 days to "start 2021 off right" and yesterday there we an internet outage in the area. One thing that is hard to do without internet is to blog. Sometimes life and the enemy will do just about anything to distract us from our plan. But God also has a way of making all things new.
Scripture Reading: Joshua 5-8
Joshua 5:9 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the shame of your slavery in Egypt.” So that place has been called Gilgal to this day.
Joshua 5:15 The commander of the Lord’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did as he was told.
Observations:
I thought it was interesting the concept that God had of removing the shame from the people of Israel and their slavery in Egypt. I think also implied there is the shame of 40 years wondering in the wilderness instead of taking hold of the land God had promised. God's goal was for a fresh new start with the people of Israel and so in order to start something new the shame of the past needed to be let go. Shame is a powerful force in an individual or a nation. Shame can keep us tied to the past and the failures of the past. The devil is the master of using shame to keep us from moving forward.
I also found it interesting how God met with Joshua in a different way as he did with Moses. Moses was the burning bush experience and Joshua met with the commander of the Lord's army. Both were reminded they were in the presence of the Lord and so this was holy ground. I hadn't connected that this encounter with God for Joshua was right before the battle of Jericho. It does not say this in the text but I can imagine the commander of the Lord's army explaining the battle plan to Joshua about marching around the walls. I mean what a crazy plan. I can just imagine being Joshua and explaining this plan of action to the people. Some must have thought he was crazy but it worked. God's directions may seem crazy in the world's eyes and human logic but when God leads, God provides.
Application:
We all have to confront the areas of our past that we experience shame about and let God come and roll away our shame. My tendency is to hide from my past mistakes and failures instead of trying to deal with them.
God through his Spirit is still providing burning bush or meetings with the commander of God's armies. We may experience it differently than Moses did or Joshua did, but his communication with us is still clear and powerful. We need to be able to listen and allow God's presence to make our space a holy - shoes off type of place.
Prayer:
Lord, I confess my feelings of hurt and shame that keep coming up against me and are holding me back from deeper faith in you. I asked that by Your great power and grace you would roll away the shame from my heart and give me a new beginning in You today. I ask that you would speak to me today and that I would have ears to hear what your Holy Spirit is communicating to me today. Thank you Father for new beginnings and fresh starts in You. Amen.
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