Rev. Michelle Day

Joshua 1:1-9

Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9 (NRSV)

Thank God for Wilderness Experiences  

Recently I found myself praising God for wilderness experiences. Sounds odd. But, often, your assignment and the most profound revelations about God’s purpose for you come while you are in the wilderness.

As we are repeatedly shown throughout Scripture, God never lets us have a wilderness without growing something new for us out of it. And, He never gives us a task without giving us Divine instruction on how to complete it.
He reveals the reality of our situation to us
- (“My servant Moses is dead” v. 2)
He lets us know what needs to be done – and when
- (“Now proceed to cross the Jordan…” v.2)
He calls us to remembrance that
- He was with us in the wilderness (“As I was with Moses…..” v. 5)
- He will be with us in our assignments (“….so I will be with you.” v. 5)
He tells us how to succeed
- Study and meditate on His Word (“…meditate on it day and night…” v. 8)
- Act in accordance with the instruction we find in His Word (vv. 7,8)
- Don’t get distracted from it (“… do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left so that you may be successful wherever you go.” v. 7)

And, just in case we become scared to begin, fearful in the process or tired before we are finished, He encourages us over and over to “be strong and courageous” because “…I will be with you, I will not fail you or forsake you.” (v. 5-9)

Prayer 

Lord, I thank You for being beside me, in front of me and behind me in every wilderness I experience. I thank You for the experience. I thank You for giving birth to new and good things in me and for me for Your glory through each experience.

Thought for the day 

Thank God for wilderness experiences. Something new is being born.