Go Out On A Limb..

So Jamba Juice has this slogan that says "Go out on a limb, that's where the fruit is". Of course, me being a writer and a Jesus Freak, I immediately started thinking about how to put that here in a blog. There are so many examples of people in the bible that went out on a limb and tried something a little crazy to get the results they were after. Esther, Ruth, Hosea, Asa, Zacchaeus (he literally climbed a tree!), Noah, Abraham, Hannah, on and on. Today I want to talk about Joshua 24 because it's been ringing in my spirit ever since I read it a few days ago. Just for some background, Moses has died at this point and Joshua has taken over leading the children of Israel. After 40 years of wandering in the desert, a new generation is finally ready to enter into the Promised Land. By the 24th chapter, Joshua is about to die and has called together all the people for what my bible calls "The Covenant Renewal at Shecham".

Joshua starts out by reminding the people of what all God has done for them. As you move into a new chapter in your life, the Lord will often remind you of where He's brought you from as a way to keep you humble and remind you of His faithfulness and protection. The enemy tries to attack us the hardest at the transitional points in our lives, changing jobs, a new baby, a marriage, etc, and these times can be very scary. It's important that we look back over our lives and know that it was God that was with us at every point. Joshua then asks the people if they are going to commit to serving the Lord. This is the point that I want to emphasize. The children of Israel, up until this point, had been relying on everything but God to get them through. They whined and complained in the desert so much that it caused them to miss their destination for 40 years. This new generation had a to make a choice to either follow in their parents footsteps and continue worshiping the false idols or turn completely to God.

Joshua asked them to commit to God right before they were about to enter their Promised Land and right after they had just come out of the desert. They could not rely on their parents anymore, they had to forge a path for themselves. Often times, we think that if our parents are saved or if our Pastor prays over us that's all we need to gain access to Heaven. Here we can clearly see that this is not the case. The new generation had to decide for themselves they wanted to serve God. Their words were not enough for Joshua either. He asks them more than once for their commitment and leaves a remind in the form of a rock to remind them of their words. After they made their chose, they were allowed to have their inheritance. God will never force Himself on us. He allows us to choose for ourselves but all the while He's prepared our Paradise for us. Everything we need is waiting just beyond our choice to serve the Lord wholeheartedly. Right on the cusp of where they had been and where they were going, they were asked to make a decision. Imagine that fork in the road where you've tried living life on your own strength and by your own rules only to find yourself surrounded by a hot,dry, lifeless land where you seem to be going in circles. Are you going to choose God today and enter your Promised Land? Haven't you wandered around lost long enough?

Some other key points that we'll find in this chapter are the parallels between Joshua and Jesus. Joshua asked the people to follow the Lord into the Promised Land and leave they're old ways behind. He then left a symbol of their commitment to remind them of their choice. In the same fashion, Jesus asks us to follow Him, leaving behind who we used to be. When we commit, we are baptized and the Holy Spirit is left with us to keep us and remind us of who we belong to. Another key point is that the end of this chapter, Joshua died. When you live for Jesus, no one is going to follow you around to make sure you are honoring your choice. It is up to you! Everyday you have to not only confess with your mouth that Jesus is your personal Savior but make sure your actions follow suit.

Thirdly, the Promised Land belonged to another tribe before the Israelites showed up on the scene. It was already completely prepared for them. God says that He will give you land you didn't labor for and vineyards you didn't plant. This brings out a couple of sub points. God knew ahead of time that the children of Israel would end up where they were and had the Land being prepared for their arrival. No matter what, God is in control and has a plan for us. We can't mess it up too much for Him to change His mind about us. The Israelites had to be brave enough to go in a conquer the Land. When you're about to get blessed and see that someone else is squatting on your land, rely on what God has told you and don't be afraid to fight for what you know is yours. God will give you His strength for whatever task He's asked you to take on. Lastly, patience is SUPER important! It took a long time for the land the Israelites were about to possess to be ready for them. If you find yourself stuck in between your past and your future, keep pressing forward! Impatience causes us to start doing things our own way which, as we know, can cause us to wander years out of our way for no reason. Stay where you are until God tell you to move. You never know what land He is preparing for you to possess.

I know that this blog post was kind of all over the place but there was just so much meat in this chapter! I strongly encourage you to go back and read through it again. The major point of writing this was to stress that to get the results that we want, to get to the places that God is trying to take us to we have to go out on a limb. That is where we'll find the fruit. Doing the same thing over and over expecting differently is the definition of insanity. Try doing to something you've never done before! Try Jesus. Also, look up the people I mentioned at the beginning of this post. They are all shining examples of people who took a risk and trusted God wholeheartedly.