Wednesday, August 16 – Joshua 1:10-11

Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you are going to cross this Jordan, to go in to take possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving you, to possess it.’”

The season of preparing for a baby is not easy, with a rough estimate of the time the baby will arrive and so many factors and details that remain unknown until the baby’s birth. No parent can adequately prepare for the sleep they will miss, the instruction they will give through the years, or how to send a child off to college before the baby is born. Parenting is a daily learning process, seeing the step right in front of you and asking God for His guidance all along the way. Many seasons of life are this way. In today’s text, Joshua gave the officers words of preparation before they embarked on the journey. He instructed them on what was about to take place, and while this was helpful, the journey would still be long and slow.

We usually want God to give us all the answers for what’s ahead. We don’t like waiting for His answer or His plan to unfold. We want quick results and desirable outcomes immediately. But we have all that we need because God is with us in the journey. God was for His people in the time of instruction, the time of waiting, and the time of plenty. None of us can be perfectly prepared for all that God will do but we can trust Him to fill in the details and supply us with His presence and strength. How are you preparing yourself for the work God will do? Are you ready for His instruction even if it doesn’t include all the details or the exact amount of waiting required? Joshua was a leader who did not back down from the inconvenient parts of God’s plan; he trusted God and walked with his people through it. Passing our faith on to the next generation does not come with a clear checklist of everything to do, but we can take God at His Word that He will be with us, guiding us every step of the way.

• What are some hard lessons of faith you feel tempted to back down from?
• Who in your life has exemplified waiting on God and trusting Him in the journey?
• Pray and ask God to help you wait for Him and trust Him in the journey.