cowabunga!
The other day I was doing my daily devotional, reading a chapter a day of my Bible and after reading the Bible a couple of times through, I gave myself permission to skip a couple chapters should the Holy Spirit lead. I approached Joshua with some anticipation and began to read chapter 5.
When you come to this chapter you are faced with the history and the future of the Israelite people, where their ancestors who bore the Lord's wrath for turning away from His life-giving ways to live as a chosen people and they were now faced with approaching the promised land that they had been dreaming of since it was foretold to them generations ago. Now, Joshua listened and obeyed to the Lord and the people he was leading had now grown in the reflex to obey the Lord and the call was given for ALL the Israelite men to begin the custom of circumcision again.
That's when it happened, I was hit when I read verse 9a:
"Then the LORD said to Joshua,
'This day I have rolled away the reproach
I often forget the way the other nations may have been looking at the Israelites when they saw them traveling. I guess I just assumed that as soon as they crossed the Red Sea with Egypt's might drowned by the power and will of the Lord - that all the other people that they came across were afraid of them. I didn't think of those people that whispered behind this traveling nation's back as they passed by. Their speculation, their jealousy, their ridicule, scorn and contempt as Israel walked by.
You see when you've been chosen and you respond to the One who has chosen you there is a resurrection that happens on the inside of us that can take quite a while to show on the outside. The choices that we make, the way others look at us compared to who we were before - THAT is the reproach that the LORD wants to roll away from you.
Now, I know that the process of those old things that we need to let go of can be EXTREMELY uncomfortable and can morph into feelings of shame and condemnation-BUT that is not the way to view these revealings of the new you. Imagine this with me, instead of your perception of the process being like velcro being ripped from you, I challenge you to view it at a wave being rolled away from your old way of living.
For example, if you're like me and you've dealt (or are dealing) with perfectionism, need to control, fear of abandonment, (insert whatever you may want to no longer have a hold on your life and decisions). Now, imagine yourself sitting on the beach all by yourself and inviting the Holy Spirit to show you what it's time for you to begin to let go of. Now imagine, with every wave that you see gathering water then releasing it to the ocean is a layer of that thing that you want to let go of. Once, you feel confident that that particular thing is done with and you've seen the fruit of it being finished in your life... move on to the next. RIDE THAT WAVE OF REDEMPTION, FREEDOM, and DELIVERANCE friend!
And when you find yourself getting a little uncomfortable and you may feel your faith getting a little thing on the edge of that surfboard in the middle of that wave... take a deep breath and shout...
COWABUNGA!!!!!!!!
