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You are strong! – God’s good word to you
The Lord’s promise to you and I, at the beginning of this new month, as we stand at the threshold of open doors, in eager anticipation, addresses what needs to be set aside, and also His blessed assurance through which it becomes possible, ‘Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of courage; do not be afraid, or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you, wherever you go’. [Joshua 1:9] And, as you find your rest in the promise of His presence, to be blessed by it, may you know His will for your life, and also progress on wards in it’s path by the leading of the Holy Spirit.
The prayer of David, can therefore be yours and mine, as we continue to meditate upon it ,Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; May Your good Spirit lead me on level ground. [Psalm 143:10] As he stood on the verge of a miracle, to lead the people of Israel, across the river Jordan and into the Promised Land, it was the good word of God that came to Joshua. It was a promise, and also a reminder of what needed to be his inner attitude. And, to Joshua, it would have certainly been a timely word. For, it would have been with a sense of dejavu, that he would have stood in the place, where forty years earlier, they had come so close to the miracle, and yet had failed, owing to lack of faith in all but him and Caleb. Would he crumble under the pressure of circumstances, may have been the thought running in his mind, and you and I can certainly identify with Joshua’s situation, in some way or the other, for the calling of God can sometimes seem beyond our human ability. And, it is where the Lord God always intervenes, with His word that can never fail.
Joshua was able to make a confident declaration to the people of Israel, in his farewell address saying,And you know in all your hearts, and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed’. [Joshua 23:14] God said it, and it was so; for He was, and is the God of the word, the God who is the Word. He does it all by His spoken word, as seen in the very beginning, when He spoke, and everything came into being, for the Lord God to declare at the end of it all, that it was very good. [Genesis chapter 1]
The word of His power:
And even as the writer of the book of Hebrews describes, God does not stop with creating or bringing things to pass. For in describing the nature and work of the Son of God, it is written, Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself, purged our sins, and sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High. [Hebrews 1:3] He continues His good work, to sustain or hold up what He has created, not maintaining a status quo position that sees no growth, but propelling it forward, by the word of His power.
And even today, in the word of His power, it will not be merely a maintenance mode in which you operate, but one of progress that sees you moving forward in the direction of where He wants you to be, though this year has been one of unheard of challenges. It has come as an unpleasant surprise to one and all, but not to God, the God of forethought, who has already made provision in your life and mine, to prosper in accomplishing His will, be privileged to be part of His plan for your life. And it all begins with God’s good word that comes to you, even if it seems impossible, and highly improbable, that it can come to pass. The life and call of Abraham bears testimony to it, even as we look up to him as the ‘father of faith’, whose descendants we are today.
God calls into existence:
That he would be the father of many nations by His blessing was the good word of God that came to Abraham, when he was old and yet without a child. And it was the word from God, that Abraham held on to in faith, to be also led forward by it, though outwardly and physically, both he and Sarah were past the age of child bearing, and in that sense his own body was dead. But, he believed in God, and the power of His word -the God who had spoken the good word to him, As it is written ’I have made you a father of many nations’, in the presence of whom he believed God, who gives life to the dead, and calls those things which do not exist, as though they did. [Romans 4:17]
It can rightly be said that when God calls things that are not, they come into being. And it saw a mighty transformation in the life of Abraham, in alignment with the promise of God to him. And with him, God took him from being Abram, or ‘exalted father’, to call him Abraham, or ‘the father of a multitude’, which indeed he became, for in calling him so, the power of His word, made it become a wondrous reality. And the God of Abraham who remains the same even today, is your God too. Therefore, even as you draw near to Him in faith and confidence, He will speak to you the good word that will cause to come into being, what is needed to remove any lack or inadequacy in your life, as you receive His word , so that out of the fullness of your heart, your mouth may declare it.
For, He spoke and it was done:
He commanded and it stood firm. [Psalm 33:9] A wonderful picture of it would be the Lord rebuking, commanding the waves, to bring a perfect and an immediate calm, while crossing over to the other side of the sea of Galilee, in a storm tossed boat with His disciples. It is what His word can do even now in your life, as you sail through these stormy waters of unexpected trouble and turmoil. You will be safe, for the Lord is in the boat with you. His word to you, brings in you, and in your life, what you lack, and what you need, into existence, and His command sustains and establishes it, to move you forward in bold confidence even in perilous times.
It is the everlasting and unchanging principle of truth concerning the working of God, since the dawn of creation,, and will remain so in all the days to come. It was so in the life of Abraham, and also in the life of Joshua. And it was what the Lord brought to Joshua’s attention, in his time of crisis, to remind him of what He had already commanded him to be, and the reason why he could be so. [Joshua 1:9] He could be strong and courageous, and not be afraid or dismayed, for though what lay ahead of him was a tremendously challenging task, his God was going to be with him. And in the promise of His presence, he could find his rest, to move forward in God’s plan for him.
The God of Abraham and Joshua, is today your God, and He is the God who never changes; He remains the same, yesterday, today and forever. He is with you even now, and more importantly, will remain with you, that you may prosper and have good success in your life. You have a God of purpose, who causes all things to work together for good, in the lives of those who love Him, and are called according to His purposes. [Romans 8:28] And, His purposes can never be thwarted. He will intervene therefore , in your life’s circumstance, at the right time and in the right way, to lead you forward, in the path of progress and maturity, that you may accomplish His purposes for your life, to be fulfilled, and blessed, to be a channel of blessing in the lives of others.
And His word will come to pass, to be sustained and propelled by His command, until it accomplishes the purpose for which it came to you. For, you have a faithful God, who has declared through His prophet, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void; But it shall accomplish what I please; It shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. [Isaiah 55:11] And the Son of God, the Living and Eternal Word, as He walked on earth, and went about doing good, for God was with Him, exemplified it many times, as it is narrated in the scriptures. A nobleman’s son was healed, purely by the word that He spoke. ‘Go your way, your son lives’, the Lord said to the nobleman, who trusted His word and began his return journey, only to be met on the way, with the good word of his son’s healing, and also that it had come to pass, at the very moment that the Lord had spoken it. He spoke and it was done. And it was the command of His word that sustained it, to propel the nobleman forward in his journey of faith, as he and his whole household believed. [John 4:46-54] In his case, it was an immediate healing; but maybe in your life, you are still waiting for the word of the Lord to come to pass.
But the seed of doubt that the devil tries to plant in your mind, can be overcome by something higher, the incorruptible seed of the word of God, that has declared, God is not man, that He should lie, Or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Has He said, and will He not do ? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? [Numbers 23:19] Generally speaking, in circumstances of life, people tend to lie, when they have promised to do or give something to a person, and then are unable to fulfill it. It could even be a very valid reason, but still could lead the one who promised it to cover it up with a lie. But when you are a child of the faithful God whose word is settled in the heavens forever,every promise in the scriptures, even as it comes to you as a word in season, is yes and Amen in Christ Jesus.
Therefore, as a parent, when the future of your child, spiritually speaking, begins to cause anxiety in you, and in some ways quite understandably so, you can find your rest in the good word that He has spoken, not just over your children, but also over your children’s children, or in generations to come! [Isaiah 59:21] He is the God who is able to do much more than you asked or imagined! And it is all about His grace and mercy, His undeserved favor upon your life and mine. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but yet, in love He has sought us with the promise of His presence. The life of Jacob, the patriarch, displays very well that it was not his goodness, but the Lord’s forbearing love, that assured Him of His presence with him, until what He promised was fulfilled. His presence was the guarantee, that what He had spoken will come to pass.
And thus, to Joshua, in reminding him about what He had already spoken, saying, ‘Have I not commanded you. ..,’ to also declare, ‘for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go’, the Lord God was also reminding him, that He was accomplishing it in his life. He is also the unchanging God, who does the same in your life too, as you surrender yourself at the altar of His grace. And at any given point of time, and any given circumstance, however challenging it may appear to be from a merely human perspective, when He reminds you of what He has spoken, you can be truly assured, that He is accomplishing it in your life. The Lord has indeed spoken His good word, concerning every aspect of your life. And He is reminding you this day, of what He has spoken concerning you, that you may know and believe, to see and rejoice in it’s fulfillment
1. Dry bones shall live
As depicted in what the Lord spoke to the people of Israel through Ezekiel, the valley of dry bones rising up, to live,is His reminder to you of what He is accomplishing in what you thought was irreparably and irrevocably lost in your life. It is coming alive, as the Holy Spirit infuses life in it. [Ezekiel 37:1-14] There is a hope and a future that you can look forward to with joy.
2. Your sins have been dealt with
The Lord has spoken about your sins and mine,and the sins of the whole world, to say reassuringly, ‘Come now, and let us reason together; Though your sins are like scarlet,They shall be as white as snow. Though they are red as crimson, They shall be white as wool. [Isaiah 1:18] So, if this day finds you guilt ridden on account of your past sins, to be tormented by the accuser of the brethren who reminds you of it, the Lord is saying this to you, to take away your reproach and shame , ‘For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more’. [Hebrews 8:12] And He is a God of righteousness and justice, who does not compromise with sin. He does not remember, for His Only Begotten Son, has dealt with it on the Cross. Lord Jesus paid it all, to set you free from the bondage of sin. It is the truth that you remember as you celebrate the Holy Communion, the incomparable glory of the new covenant.
3. Your offspring are blessed
Fear not, O Jacob, my servant, And you, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen; For I will pour water on Him who is thirsty, And floods on the dry ground. I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, And My blessing on your offspring. [Isaiah 44:1,2] It is the good word that the Lord has spoken, concerning the future of your children. And in reminding you of it, He reaffirms the truth of it being worked out in their lives, now and in the years to come.
4. Your future- the crooked made straight
And even in the midst of lack and uncertainty, which has been the tempo of this present year, the word that God has spoken over your future stands firm. For, He is reminding you, that just as He did with Cyrus, today He is holding your right hand to help you, and make the crooked straight before you, ‘I will go before you, and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze, And cut the bars of iron’. [Isaiah 45:2] He is also your Redeemer, who says to you, ‘I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go’. [Isaiah 48:17]
And you will experience gain, even in this lean season, a dry patch that only the mighty hand of God, can bring to an end, to bring healing and hope in the lives of people. For, when your hope is in the Lord you will not be disappointed. [Romans 10:17] You can find your rest in the blessed assurance of His presence with you, that speaks into your heart saying, ‘I have given you these promises; and now I am with you to see that they are fulfilled. And therefore you will rise up, to soar with Him, by the power of His love.
5. Your future – strength renewed
Those who hope in the Lord, Will renew their strength: They will mount up on wings as eagles; They will run and not be weary, walk and not be faint. [Isaiah 40:31] And as you find your rest in the promise of His good word to you, the word that has gone ahead to make all that is crooked, straight, may every fear in you depart,in the confidence of His presence. You are strong and courageous, for it is His good word to you. For, when He has spoken it, it is done.
In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
