waiting and resting

Joshua 11

"Joshua killed all the kings of those territories, waging war for a long time to accomplish this." 11:18

This one verse has been marinating within me for quite some time. When I read about the Lord's conquest over much of Canaan, it seems to have happened pretty fast - I can read about it in 10 minutes! But reality is, it took Joshua SEVEN years to accomplish this much victory.

I like quick changes. I like to see progress. I like things to happen on my time. But our journey through this process is a lifelong process. It is easy to grow impatient with God and feel like giving up, or moving on without him, because we think He is moving to slow. Truth is, we should always be walking one step behind Him. When we are close to a situation, it is difficult to see progress, but when we look back on the other side, we can see that God never stopped walking ahead.

If Joshua had given up or decided he would try to do it his way instead, he would have missed every little thing the Lord had for him along the way. It is easy to focus so much on the big promise, that you miss all the other promises right in front of you that He has, right now.

"So Joshua took control of the entire land, just as the Lord had instructed Moses. He gave it to the people of Israel as their special possession, dividing the land among the tribes. So the land finally had rest from war." 11:23

Joshua waited on the Lord for every thing. He stayed one step behind the Lord through the entire journey. How did that end for him?

So the land finally had rest from war.

The Lord is constantly teaching me to wait, rest, learn. Waiting not just for things to happen that I am praying for, but waiting on Him to speak to me, teach me, lead me. As I sit with Him and wait, I know that rest will come.