There aren't too many of us who haven't been in awe of someone else's circumstances and if we are honest a bit jealous of the success, fame, finances or fashion that someone seems to have. They usually lead a rather public lifestyle and rather intentionally or not they come a crossed with everything being perfect and in order. You take one look and wish that you had what they seem to possess. The thing is we only see half the equation. When they get the mail and see the latest credit card balance, the foreclosure notice, the legal papers or whatever else may be coming.
When Joshua was told he would be leading the nation of Israel into the promised land it was a welcomed time. He had been there years earlier with a group of 11 others. Together the 12 "spies" entered into the land with one objective, to bring Moses back a report of the land. When they got back you can almost hear the excitement as they share of the bountiful land and the vastness of its provisions. But among the report 10 of the spies who were in full agreeance of the milk and honey stories began to spread their poison. They began to speak how the land was occupied and made them look like grasshoppers. The land would be nice but definitely not worth the work to get it. It would surely cost lives and honestly it wasn't that bad where they were at so why pick a fight you can't win.
Only Joshua and Caleb maintained the perspective that God is with us and has promised this land, lets go claim it. Well you and I know that the doubt came at a great cost and it was years of wandering as they could peer into the land from Mt. Nebo and other locations and they could see what a beautiful land it was. So it must have been with great anticipation when God told Joshua that Moses would not return from his mountain experience this time but that he would be taking them to claim what should have been theirs 40 years ago. Joshua by this time would have been around 90 years old by some estimates and had gone from slavery in Egypt to dealing with the sins of others which kept him from God's promise at least temporarily and now to leading a million of God's children into a land promised centuries ago.
My point is, consider what perspective you are using to view life. Joshua had seen the land and desired to go and take it as God had promised and wasn't able to. I believe he thought often of his days treading on the promised land as a spy and seeing the jumbo sized fruit and water and desired to have what the Canaanites and others had. But with his age came experience and wisdom, obviously patient and willing to go by God's timing and not his own, he was able to come into the blessed provision of God and although many battles ensued, he was at long last home and no longer idly waiting to claim the blessing of God.
I know far too many people who wouldn't be that patient. Young adults who feel they should be able to go out and buy the same quality of life as their parents. They see peers with bigger houses, more friends, and newer vehicles. In fact a video i recently watched a man expressed his discontent with his wife's outer appearance and desired another woman who was younger and much more attractive. He said the one thing he would like to leave with was that woman and everyone laughed. Inside the wife had to be crushed, inside the other woman's husband had to be seething or maybe just gloating, hard to tell these days.
I pray you look to God with thankfulness in your hearts because it is temporal and the day is fast approaching where we will be speechless at the bounty of God's provision.
Till next time
P.M.
