Joshua’s Prayer – God’s Promising – Surprise – Mine, Mine, and His
For the first time ever, I changed the source phrase on one of these. Partially because the one I had was too long and partially because the one I had gave away the point too early. Maybe I was inspired by the surprise to leave everyone hanging.
Much has been written about all the promises that God makes in the Bible. Rather than the promises themselves, I felt inspired to discuss the fact that He is making promises at all. God does not need us. He is all powerful and can do whatever He wants. Why would He want to make a bunch of promises, or even one, to a bunch of back sliders? Because he loves us. I have cats. I did not want cats. I do not particularly like cats, but I have cats. And I love them. I give them water, food, treats, pay their doctor bills, and all that, because I love them. As some people may have experienced, the general consensus is that cats only see people as a means to an end, do nothing out of love, and even will eat their owners if they pass and are not tended to quickly. In a sense, people are like cats. But God loves us anyway.
In case no one noticed, I had a long lull between blogs and am trying to catch up as quickly as makes sense. I have no idea what the surprise was, so hopefully not everyone is disappointed.
Joshua’s prayer was for more time to kill his enemies. It was a miracle of miracles in the way he asked for it and the way it was granted. I have written in the past about asking for the impossible. It is a great way to know God is on your side.
There is an old movie Yours, Mine, and Ours. I saw it when I was young, and it made an impression. Around our house, we have a running joke. “What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is mine.” I am the only one who gets to say it. I have stuff no one else wants, but I am also the big mean dad. I do not mean to be mean, but I intend to be firm and help the girls learn responsibility. In this phrase Mine, Mine, and His, I have tried to wrap up all this together to denote that nothing is really mine and my duty as a steward is to do the best with what God provides, be it $10, a child, a cat, a car, or a baseball card.
Surprise. I still do not remember my intent. That being said (I feel I am repeating myself), our life is to be full of surprise. The other day when walking after dumping all my worries on God, I saw a friend walking in my neighborhood. I had not seen him in years and had no reason to suspect he had recently moved in down the street. I was surprised to see him, but more surprised that I told him everything was fine, and even more surprised to find that it was true that I was fine. Ask for the miracles and then watch for them. As I told the 11th grade boys the other day, God gives us miracles to tell others about Him, make sure you are watching for those opportunities.