Will You Be Stuck Or Moving Forward ? (Part 1)

All of us have a past, and from my experience we all have at least one major event that has the potential to keep us stuck in pain and disappointment. If you find yourself heading there, or are currently stuck, read on and learn from one of the greatest men of the Old Testament.

The person I want to talk about is Joshua, Moses’ servant and military general of the army of Israel. Joshua is unique for a number of reasons, one of which is that he was challenged to leave what was familiar for what was unknown. Second, he was losing the man he had served for 40+ years. Moses was the greatest leader he and Israel had ever encountered. God said that he talked face to face with Moses, something no one could match.

Exodus 33:11  Hard Act To Follow

Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

Not only was Joshua’s spiritual father being taken from him, but God was calling Joshua to walk in his foot steps. That is a hard act to follow, and if it was me that call of God would be very intimidating to say the least. Could Joshua part the sea like Moses did, or get water out of solid rock like Moses did?  You see the burden he was facing.

But in all these challenges I think the biggest hurdle to get over was the challenge to leave the life he had learned to follow for the last 40 years in the wilderness. As bad as the wilderness could be it was familiar. He knew how to navigate the the lean times, that barren time.  To be called to enter a land that he had no experience in or with, and be like Moses, seemed impossible.

Lets unpack what God said to encourage Joshua to move forward and not be stuck in yesterday.  The advice God Gave him is good advice for all of us.

Joshua 1:2-3

Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses.

First, God tells him the obvious. Sometimes we don’t see the obvious. We overlook it, and that can trip him and us up before we start walking out God’s plan for us. Moses is dead. Joshua had to come to grips with the fact that no amount of wishing was going to change that fact. No matter how much Joshua wanted to stay in that past friendship, it was over. If we try to stay in our past when God calls us forward we only stay with ghosts. Images of what was but are not any more.

Then God challenges Joshua to get up and get moving. We can’t see the future, but sometimes we need to start moving for our destiny to be manifest. Joshua just needed to put one foot in front of the other and God would be by his side to guide him. Many times we can’t handle too much information no matter how much we want it. We need to just get moving forward.

Next, God challenges Joshua to embrace the promise that ahead of him was an inheritance that was beyond his wildest imagination. A place of abundance Joshua and Israel had not known in Egypt nor in the wilderness. Promises are meant to give us hope for the future, and a motivator to expect more than we understand because God is much bigger than our past.

Fourth, God tells Joshua that every place the sole of their feet touches God is giving to them. The idea is that as Joshua and the nation of Israel stepped out in faith God would be with them to help them gain what they could not do on their own. All too often the people of God wait for God to move on their behalf when God, in fact, is waiting for us to move out in faith.

When did we get the idea that we could wait for God to move before we do? Surely it wasn’t from scripture. There are only a few instances in scripture where God said for us to stand still and see God move. The norm is “Believe” the word of the Lord and “Move” out in faith. Almost all of God’s promises are contingent on us believing them and then acting as if they were true now.

Consider the apostle Paul’s explanation of how and when a person becomes “Born Again,” and apply it to this story of Joshua and the children of Israel. If our hearts don’t embrace and believe God’s word there is not salvation. If we believe but don’t confess Christ there is no born again experience. Just because a person prays a prayer with a church congregation doesn’t guarantee God’s acceptance.

Romans 10:9-10

If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

The gospel of John clearly speaks about those who become adopted as God’s children and those who do not. Our choice of embracing Jesus is the passage way to receiving God’s offer of adoption as his children.

John 1:11-12

He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.

The word “receive” used in this passage is active not passive. The word implies a person “Taking Hold” of something. When God moves in our life it is always implied, if not stated, to be a “Cooperative” word of agreement. In the following articles with this same name we will continue to explore the challenges and steps Joshua took to inherit God’s best.

Questions:

1) Are you stuck in the past? Ask for God’s help to move forward.

2) If you are stuck ask God if it’s fear or unforgiveness that hold you back. Confess what the Holy Spirit reveals to you and ask for cleansing.

God wants our best but he can’t and will not make us leave our bondage if we choose to stay in the past.

Pastor Dale