As many of you know, I just came back from a sweet time with my kids on our Dads Backpacking Trip. And once again, it was a special time just hanging out with my girls. (Yes, I did take Jub's this year--it's amazing what those little green eyes can make me say yes to!)
The passage we looked at during our "church in the woods" was Joshua chapter 3. (Read it here if you get a chance; it's only 15 verses or so).
This passage is filled with so many great truths--God is the God of the living, and He wants us to show us amazing things, to name a few. But one of the things that really spoke to me was how God wanted the people to get back and watch.
"When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about a thousand yards between you and the ark; do not go near it."
Joshua 3:3-4
It wasn't that God didn't want His people close. It's that He wanted them to see who He was. To see His power. To be reminded of His grace.
So often my life is filled with places I have never been and situations I never saw coming, and more often than not, I find myself running amiss. I forget to stop and listen to what He has to say or to be still long enough to watch Him move.
If that's you this week, STOP and take a STEP BACK. See what the Lord is really doing. Listen to the word He wants to give you to direct or comfort you.
If you do, you just mind find that you'll be able to see Him a little more clearly.
I am so excited to see God working in the lives of others. There are so many people really growing in our church lately and so many that need that reasurance that the struggle and doubts and the variety of feelings are all normal. God does not want a church full of fun loving people who are super fun at picnics but He wants people to know Him and love Him and trust Him in the horrible times, no matter what our feelings are. God's Word is so deep and can give us what we need, we just may not go there, and then He still meets us. I love you my church body.
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