September 16, 2017 (Scary Saturday)

IN EVERYTHING, TRUST IN HIM, by Mike Price

Tribe Recap of September 16, 2017 | Scary Saturday

God had led the Israelites out of slavery, out of wandering in the wilderness and now into the land he had promised them.  Yet there were still times they did not fully trust and honor what the Lord had done and had yet to do in their lives.  Often, when they came up against trials, they resorted to trusting themselves instead of God. 

We saw this in Joshua 9 when the Kings west of the Jordan decided to resort to a ‘ruse’ instead of waging war against Joshua and Israel.  A ‘ruse’ is willingly resorting to servitude instead of annihilation.  They decided that a life as servants was better than death.  They heard what had happened to the other Kings and cities and did not want to experience the same fate. 

When Joshua questioned the Kings, they lied to him and said they were from a far-off land.  They were deceitful and even ‘dressed’ the part, with worn out wine-skin sacks, worn sandals and moldy bread.  This led to Joshua trusting himself rather than seeking the Lord and he signed a peace treaty with the leaders.  Once ratified by oath this treaty could not be broken because in these times a broken oath would make your ‘god’ worthless and powerless in the eyes of others when broken. 

Three days later the Israelites found out that these people from a ‘far off land’ were their neighbors, the Gibeonites.  They could not kill them now as God had first commanded because of the oath, so they decided to make them woodcutters and water carriers, some of the lowest class work during this period.

What we learned was that no matter how big or small the challenges or decisions we face, leaning on God and asking for his guidance is all he asks us to do.  He longs for us to trust in him with everything we have.  Not because he doesn’t trust us but because he longs for intimacy with us.  He longs for everything we think, say and do to come from him and his power thru us.  He tells us that he will never leave us or forsake us through life.

In everything you do this week, ask the Lord to guide your thoughts, guide your words and guide your actions.  Trust in him with EVERYTHING and watch how he carries you through your trials and blesses you!