Day 13 – Wednesday (9/05/18)
The next couple days are just going to be treading water while we wait for the next biopsy on Friday. With that said, I’m just going to keep the blog short, and stick to a few thoughts for the day, and a prayer (unless something super crazy exciting happens… then I’ll have to write about it!).
My thought for the day is not original, but instead is brought to you courtesy of our Wednesday Night Bible study. In Joshua chapter 1, God gives instructions to Joshua. Remember, Moses had just died, and the Israelites were without a leader. God had chosen Joshua to fill that role. God tells Joshua in verse 6, 7, and 9 “Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
In these versus, God tells Joshua, not one, not two, but three times to be strong and courageous. He should not be afraid or dismayed. He is to also to be obedient to the law that was given to Moses (which Moses recorded in the first 5 books of the Bible). So the question you may ask. How? It is easy to tell Joshua to do this… but boy it would sure be nice to know HOW! Now we look at verse 8. “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” This was God’s answer to the “how”. Joshua could be successful in being strong and courageous if he studied the Word of God (at that time, only 5 books), and OBEY what it said. Today, we have 66 books to study and obey. This may seem like a monumental task, but taking it verse by verse, we can study and obey.
Dear heavenly Father, I would like to thank You again for my church family. Thank You for providing a place where we all can go to study Your Word together, and learn more about You. Thank You for reminding me tonight that I need to be strong and courageous in the storm I am facing. Please help anyone who is facing a storm today to realize the same. Thank You for showing us how to do that. Thank You for giving us the Bible in a language we can read, that we may study it to learn more about You. Help us to obey the commands you give in the Bible, starting with Jesus’ answer to the Pharisees when they asked him which law is the greatest in Matthew 22:37-40 “Jesus said to him, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”” If there is one thing you are teaching me through my current trial, it is empathy. I have heard “catch” words like “biopsy”, “cancer”, etc many times… but I never truly stopped to put myself in the shoes of my neighbor to REALLY understand what they were going through. Well, now I am learning… and my eyes are opening. Thank You for helping to show me what it really means to love your neighbor, to take a step into their shoes and lives, and genuinely try to understand what they are going through. Please help me to always stay focused on You, that I may love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind. Amen.