May 20th, 2020

A beautiful Wednesday to all,
This week in our sermon series, we continue to explore the book of Joshua.  As we come to the second and third chapters, we read two stories that are so familiar to us that we sometimes overlook the glaring question they pose for our lives. 
In the second chapter there is the story of Rahab and in the third chapter we read of Israel crossing the Jordan river as if on dry land.

There has been a debate regarding Rahab covering for the spies in regards to her dishonesty but that is not what I will focus on today. The reasoning of her actions were based on her understanding of who God was, His power, and the consequences of trusting in Him.  She asked for and was granted deliverance for her family.  Her deliverance came as a result of first acting on her understanding of who God was. What I mean it was not: "do this for me and then I will help you". Her faith and trust led her to act without having secured any benefit. Rahab risked her life based on her belief of who God was and the outcome of trusting Him. 

In the third chapter the crossing of the Jordan required enough trust for the priests to firmly plant their feet in the raging waters of the Jordan at flood levels.  The deal was that God would part the waters when they planted their feet in the water. I don't know how many have seen a river at flood stages but the idea of firmly planting one's foot in those waters is a bit scary. Yet, they did so and thus demonstrated their trust in God's word.

Trust in God demonstrated by risking one's life and trust in God by stepping into a raging river. When we read such stories, the glaring question for us is "how is our trust?"  Do we trust only as long as we are not asked to do something scary? Do we trust so long as we don't have to risk anything?  Rahab put her life on the line.  Sometimes we are not willing to put our comfort on the line. Our trust in God is secure so long as we have what we need financially, emotionally, or materially.  Our declaration "God is good" is conditional on Him being good to us. 

We are told in Proverbs 3:5 [Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.] This means we trust, even when it is scary.

Blessings to you as you walk in trust this day.
Vic