Trust: Word Ambassadors: Prayers and Poetry

Trust

Descendants by heritage

physical line from exodus

forty years of waiting

promise of new beginnings

withheld by ancestor’s sin.

Now stood to receive

prepared themselves under

knife of circumcision

mark of obedience

accepted God’s new provision

as manna ceased

ate fresh crops

renewed trust.

Reflection Commit: Word Ambassadors: Prayers and Poetry

Reflection Questions

1.     Have you ever had to wait a very long time for a fulfilled promise because another person stood in the way?

2.     How did you continue to stay committed?

3.     Did you come closer to the Lord, or further away, or a mix of both? What caused each reaction?

4.     What advice would you give to someone today in those circumstances?

Share: What unexpected form of provision has the Lord given you recently?

Commit: Word Ambassadors: Prayers and Poetry

Reading: Joshua 5

“On the day after the Passover… The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land, and the Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year.” Joshua 5: 11-12

The generation before them had enough faith to leave slavery behind and follow the Lord’s promise. Then in the wilderness their trust faltered and prevented them from reaching their new land. Yet, God did not forsake them, or leave them to perish, but continued to provide for them every day until they reached a natural life span, except for Caleb and Joshua who had stood in faith all along, now as then ready to obey whatever God said.

This next generation had to make their own decision based on their own experiences. Whatever they chose would be their new path: to remain bound in limitation as did the generation before them, or to trust the Lord’s Promised Land and step into a completely new experience.

First they too had to let go the past and step out in trust. They needed to choose to grow in their faith and act upon it, not even fully understanding what that would look like. All they had known was daily manna.  Would God continue to sustain them spiritually and physically?

And the choice required a cost: circumcision. A permanent act of obedience and commitment. For each man a personal decision. An act of trust to pass on to the generation to follow them.

Lord, please keep us from fears that reduce our days to mere existence and instead keep our hearts grounded in a living faith that sees each day as a new opportunity to walk in trust and fellowship with You.

Psalm of Worship: Psalm 125:2

“As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

so the Lord surrounds his people,

from this time on, and forevermore,”