God is teaching me that it is good to reflect and review the past. A couple days ago, someone asked about our granddaughter and I described the events during the last year of her stay with us. When I was finished, both my listener and I were worshiping God.
In one year, and because of the powerful name of Jesus, she has changed from being silent, severely depressed and suicidal to a confident and happy person. She has a job that she likes. She is registered to re-enter university next month for her teaching certificate. She is keeping her space clean, doing her chores, keeping us up to date with her plans and schedule, and engaging us in lively conversation. Last week she went through her belongings and tossed things no longer useful (this is a gal who would not throw away a gum wrapper). She also saved some money and planned a trip, and is now part way to a Texas destination. She will be flying home in a few weeks.
This morning I read Joshua 24. Verse two begins with Joshua giving a history review: “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Your fathers . . . dwelt on the other side of the River in old times; and they served other gods. . . .’” He reminded them of all God had done in their lives to that point, including His call to Abraham, their deliverance from Egypt, and blessing upon blessing as they journeyed to the promised land.
God also reminded them of their present situation: “I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.”
I feel as if He is speaking to me too. Our journey has been challenging. June 2006 brought my husband’s diagnosis of CLL. Our granddaughter moved in last August, overdosed on stolen pills in December, and continued to concern us. My otherwise healthy husband had a surprise heart attack in May. Yet in it all, God keeps amazing us. My husband’s latest CLL blood work shows his numbers have dropped almost into the ‘normal’ range. He is doing all that the heart specialists have told him, and is fitter and feeling better than ever. Then there are the changes in our grandchild.
Earlier in the year, a ‘word for the year’ popped into my mind: unflappable. I knew that God wants me to trust Him to the point that whatever happens I barely blink. From CLL to suicide threats to heart attack, unflappable is what He has done in me. Even though I’ve had a few times of feeling feel like giving up, quitting, or running away from home, He is faithful and provides whatever I need to keep going, keep trusting.
Toward the middle of Joshua 24, he offers this challenge to the people: “Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of 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.”
If I had been wavering on Saturday, like the Israelites were so prone to do throughout most of the Old Testament, reviewing the past year was enough to answer the challenge. Who could turn away from a God who gives us abundance which we do not deserve, good health for which we have little control, and changed lives that seemed impossible? How can I not trust Him? As the people answered Joshua, so also do I say, “The Lord our God I will serve, and His voice I will obey!”
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