who's in charge here?!

Okay so its been a few days and i still have to finish Joshua! I have to be honest it's been a rough couple of days. I think that's one of the reasons why i hadn't posted until now, I've realized that it is hard to go through the Word of God, process it, believe it truly for yourself and then pass it on to others when you are feeling downtrodden and defeated. The last few days have been a lot of  "take this from me, Lord," and "i'm giving this to you because i need to." Which really in all reality is actually right where God wants me. Submissive to his will, willing to give up my "stuff" to him, and recognize that I cannot and should not carry burdens alone.

I titled this post who's in charge here for a few reasons, but mostly it's because Joshua 24 is about who you are choosing to serve, who is in charge. I have to say, walking around as burdened as I was prior to giving things up in prayer, i do not want to be in charge. The self-righteous, prideful part of me is like "what?! how can you not want to be in charge, you got this! this is child's play compared to what you have been through!" But really, and honestly, carrying all that junk around just acts as a weight on your soul and proves to be toxic to everything else you try to accomplish.

So, to transition, here's some back story on what was going on when Joshua exclaimed that he was going to follow God regardless of what happened. He gathered tribes of Israel to Shechem. Now Shechem is modern day Palestine for you geography nerds. I don't know about you, but when I'm reading about some of these places, i have to look it up on a map from then and now to determine where the heck this was all taking place. So when they are all gathered, God talks about their history, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob/Esau, Moses/Aaron, the whole deal with Egypt, the whole wilderness journey, and all the subsequent victories that followed over the foes of Israel. Again, I have provided a map and some reference to prevent confusion. Keep in mind everyone got an inheritance except for the Levites, since the priesthood was their inheritance through Aaron. 

Joshua then at the end of all of this goes on to mention what is required of Israel. "Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (24: 14-15).

In the Horn House we have a wooden sign of this last verse over our front door on the inside, and let me tell you it is good to know when you are coming down the stairs or cleaning, it is visible from most angles. And, it is such a comfort to know that I am not the one overseeing this chaotic mess of a journey called life. In all honesty, I am glad there is someone willing to take the burdens i chose to try and carry, I think life would be so much more dreary and painful if I didn't. 

So that is the end of Joshua, and it even says in verse 31 that Israel served God all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua...crazy to see how one man who chose to follow God regardless of how ugly life got not only benefited from his blessings, but an entire nation beyond his lifetime did the same even if it was for a brief while. As I stated in previous posts, it is encouraging and enlightening to see someone who followed fast after the will of God and his fruit was visible both immediately and in the future. I can only hope that my following after the same God he did will yield the same harvest.