Stock and Tulip
“They did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.” (Joshua 5:12)
Joshua was born a captive in Egypt,and as a young boy
watched with wonder as God parted the Red Sea
and made a way in the wilderness.
He was with Moses as a young man
throughout the wilderness wanderings, all the while
being groomed by God for his future assignment.
Perhaps even now the Lord is grooming you for some future mission.
It was Joshua who led the spies into the Promised Land
and saw for himself what others only dreamed about.
He alone, with Caleb, argued the case for Faith when all others
caved in to doubt, fear, and unbelief.
And it was Joshua, the man of faith,
whom God anointed to lead the children of Israel
into Canaan to experience the fulfillment of promises
made by the Faithful God,
and to finish the business at hand of reclaiming the Land
from those who had been stolen by the powers of darkness.
These recollections serve as a great encouragement
to us today as we face a similar opportunities
for making progress in the things of God.
Just as the Lord rescued His people from Egyptian bondage,
so He has marked us by His love and redeemed us unto Himself
out of the fallen and faulted world system,
wherein we were held captive under the heavy hand of task-masters
who drove us with whip and stick in the lustful pursuit
of power, sex, and money.
Our lives were marred by corruption,
stained with shame,
and marked for death.
But God, who is rich in mercy
and unfailing in His faithfulness, redeemed us!
And now the Faithful God stands before us,
and beckons us to follow Him onward and
He takes us inward that we might go upward.
The challenges are not over,
nor are the changes complete,
but our hearts are lifted
with a sense of imminent breakthroughs;
things oft dreamed about,
and long-awaited,
seem to be so very close at hand.
The smell of rain is in the air.
Come, friend, take heart
and renew your trust in the Faithful God.
For it will be said of us as it was of our predecessors —
“They did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year” (Jos.5:12).
From Egyptian bondage, through desert dryness and testing,
to a land that flowed with milk and honey —
the Faithful God has ever been there for us, as He was with them. Rylie
Take heart . . . Today
With my prayers, desiring yours, Leslie
Thoughts of Grace 