Everyday God

Whilst reading through the book of Joshua, I have noticed something. Now it's not a massive lightbulb moment, but it's a reminder.

The first moment Joshua records is the miraculous entry into the promised land - crossing the Jordan on dry ground. The next is the wonderful victory of Jericho. The third moment is Israel's defeat at Ai.

Now, what I notice is that in the first circumstance, the crossing of Jordan - the Israelites were in a tricky situation. How on earth was the whole nation meant to get from one side of this flowing river to the other? It wasn't exactly a river they could paddle across. The Israelites had to trust in God to do something, otherwise they were stuck. What other option did they have?

The second time they were probably still buzzing from the high of getting across the river. They heard that the residents of the land were afraid of them, and God told them how to demolish Jericho. Simples. They had God's instructions, followed them and won.

The third scenario, that of Ai - Joshua sent some spies, they checked out the land, saw that there weren't many people so they reckoned it'd be an easy battle. The spies reported back just to send a few of the army. The result? Some Israelites were killed, and the rest ran for their lives.

Do you notice the difference between these situations?

The first situation, the Israelites were beyond themselves.
They could do nothing to remedy their situation, they HAD to rely on God. Nothing in all their strength, knowledge or power could enable them to get across that river. God spoke clearly and they had confidence to follow his instructions.
The Israelites knew there was nothing they could do, so they trusted in God who can do all things.

In the second situation, Israel faced their first battle. They listened to what God said about how to do it. They trusted his advice as they'd just walked across a river bed and entered what God had promised plus they'd never done this before. They were experiencing God moving and knew he wouldn't let them down. So, they followed God and were triumphant.

These first two situations God is obviously present. The third - where was he?
To the Israelites, this third task seemed easy. It looked simple, something that the Israelites could get on with themselves. They had enough strength and power within them, so they could get on with this bit. It seems that God was not consulted or invited into the situation. Why? The Israelites had seen what had been achieved already, they knew the size and strength of their resources and trusted in that. As you read about this scenario in Joshua, there is no mention of God whatsoever. The Israelites had not consulted him about it, they just went ahead and got on with it.

Now, before we judge Israel - we do the same.

When things are impossible for us - we cry out to God - "help me", and we are so grateful and amazed when God does, whether he changes the situation, helps us handle it or does something totally out of the box miraculous - we are amazed and grateful for God's work in our lives.

Once we've seen God's almighty power at work in our lives, we realise we can trust and depend on him. We invite him into our situations, into our battles and successes and celebrate with him.

Then, once we've come through a few things and have had a few experiences we become more confident in our own abilities and think we can handle things ourselves. We can begin to think that we are capable or being independent as we have the strength, skills and knowledge that we need to get on. We rely on ourselves. Where's God?

I know I am guilty of this. I get on with each day pretty confident that I'm going to get to the end of it ok. However maybe I am missing out on some victories because I haven't asked God to come in. Maybe I'm struggling more because I'm doing everything in my own strength. Maybe that's why I'm so tired! Maybe I'm missing out on seeing his blessings in my everyday life.
Could that be the same for you?

Today I invite God into my everyday. Do you?