He knows.

Dear Joshua,

Sorry your post got pushed back a day due to a bunch of women...but they're pretty cool.  I don't think less of you, but sometimes I have little control over my brain.  And when I'm still thinking about the Bible, I think it's okay to lose control sometimes.  Please forgive me. 

Love,

Lindsey

Okay, so Joshua...what do we know about him?  He fought the battle of Jericho.  If you're like me, you still have a little bit of this stuck in your head:

Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho

Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, & the walls came tumbling down!

P.S. I just looked it up & iTunes has the same exact music CD cassette tape that I listened to every night [& when I say every night, I mean every night that I wasn't listening to the Donut Man or Peter & the Wolf] as a kid!

Anyway, most of us probably know the story about Joshua & his people marching around the walls of Jericho & shouting & the walls crumbling.  That's completely awesome...but not what I want to talk about.

Before Moses died, Joshua was like his assistant.  I imagine Moses as being this great bearded man that towered over everyone & commanded their respect simply by standing to speak.  And then he dies & God tells Joshua that HE is going to be the one to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land???  If I were Joshua, I'd be having this conversation:

Um, God...are you sure you meant me?  I'm Joshua, remember.  I can't come after MOSES.  No one will listen to me the way they did him...& even if they did, what do I know about leading Your people?  I was totally fine being the assistant...I just listened to Moses & followed him around & did what he told me, trusting that He'd taken it up with You first.  Soooo...You're gonna need to call on someone else.  Trust me, I am not the man for this job.

 via

But, nope...he didn't.  Before Josh even had time to have that conversation, God was all over that situation:

No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live.  For I will be with you as I was with Moses.  I will not fail you or abandon you.  Be strong & courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them.

{Joshua 1:5-6}

God knows...before we even bring our fears & insecurities to Him, He knows.

Not only this, but God empowered Joshua.  He tells him to be strong & courageous.  He tells him this 3 times {Joshua 1:6, 7, 9}.  And then later, Josh is addressing his men, & they tell him the exact same thing {Joshua 1:18}...now if that's not God reaffirming this to Joshua, I don't know what is.  That is just SO cool to me.

I just love that He knows.

#23. God knows my struggles, fears, & insecurities...& knows exactly how to handle me in those times.
#24. our battles are not ours to fight alone.