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Thursday, November 23rd, is Thanksgiving Day here in the U.S. Our Canadian friends celebrated Thanksgiving on October 9th, and our friends in the U.K. celebrated Harvest Festival on October 1st. Regardless of the date on the calendar, we all typically celebrate the day with good food, good fun, and a special time with family and friends. Hopefully in the midst of all the festivities, we make time to be thankful.
Because we all have much for which to be thankful—even in the midst of challenging days. But i fear we tend to forget. We lose sight of all the reasons from days past, and we become distracted by the urgency surrounding days present. As a result, the thanksgiving which should influence our thoughts, attitudes and actions each and every day gets lost in the shuffle.
That was the message Joshua was giving to the Israelites from his deathbed.(1) As his last days approached, he mustered his remaining strength to convey a message that he wanted the people of Israel to hold onto. It was the “if-you-don’t-remember-anything-else-I-ever-told-you-remember-this” message.
More than likely, twenty-five years had passed since God had given the Israelites victory over all the Canaanite kings. Joshua had lived almost forty years as a slave in Egypt, forty years as Moses’ protégé in the wilderness, and over thirty years as the Israelites’ leader in the Promised Land. He had experienced the oppression of Egypt, the dependence of the wilderness, and the victory and rest of Canaan. Throughout that time, he had observed that during the most dangerous and desperate times, the people had striven to stay close to the LORD. However he had also observed that the most dangerous times for the people of God had truly been the times of prosperity. Because, like them, it is during those times that our tendency is to pull away from the LORD and forget what He has done. As a result, our thanksgiving disappears. So on this “last” occasion, Joshua admonished them to not forget what God had done and to make sure their actions reflected their thankfulness.
Do not forget that He has fought for you against your enemies – those that you are aware of and those that you are not. He has battled those that you have seen on this earth – and He has fought those in heavenly places. He has given you strength to battle with those who are flesh – and He has given His Spirit to battle against principalities and powers. He has given you wisdom, strength and courage to battle those that He has chosen to defeat through you – and He has displayed His might and His power in defeating those He has battled apart from you. He has moved heaven and earth when it was necessary. He has calmed the storm. He has made time stand still. He has held off the rains. He has caused the rains to fall. “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”(2) Thanks be to God!
Do not forget that He has given you rest from your enemies. He has held them at bay when you have been unaware. He has confused them and frustrated them. He has defeated and thwarted them. And all the while you have rested soundly and comfortably. You have received physical rest for your body, you have received mental rest for your mind, emotional rest for your heart, and spiritual rest for your soul. You have rested in the shelter of His wings. He has been your strong tower from the enemy. As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants your soul for Him.(3) Thanks be to God!
Do not forget that He has given you the land in which to dwell – that which He has already conquered and that which remains to be conquered. Just as He has given the sparrow its nest as a home so has He established the place for you to dwell. He has established the city for your dwelling place.(4) He has made us fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that we might be the dwelling place of His Holy Spirit. And He will drive out those yet to be conquered – and He will give us possession. He has said, “… I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”(5)Thanks be to God!
Don’t forget! But regrettably the people did forget. Regrettably we forget and we fail to be thankful. Sometimes we remember until the next crisis occurs. Some of us even remember through the crises. However, our greatest difficulty is often the lull of peace and prosperity. Our minds and hearts become dulled to the memories of God’s grace and goodness, and we begin to drift—most often subtly.
As many of you know, i grew up in South Florida and spent a lot of time at the beach. i often would set down my towel away from the water’s edge, walk directly out into the ocean, lay on my back in the water, close my eyes and float. There is nothing more relaxing than floating in the ocean! When i was done, i would swim or wade back to the shore. Most often, i would find that the spot where i stepped back onto the shore was different from the spot where i entered the water.
Invariably i was downstream. Even though i had been floating in the water, and not swimming, the water current had caused me to drift. And the distance of that drift depended on how long i floated in the water and how strong the current was. i didn’t need to do anything to drift. All i had to do was just lay back and relax. Occasionally i would look while i was floating to see if i could see my towel, and as long as i could see it, i wasn’t concerned if i had moved downstream—because it was only a short distance. It was only a subtle change—no big deal!
The beach patrol used flags to warn swimmers of swimming conditions. The red flag meant “don’t go in”, the yellow meant “swim with caution”, and the green was an indication that the waters were calm. When the flag was red, i wouldn’t go into the water to float. i knew to avoid those strong currents. When the flag was yellow, i would be careful and cautious, making regular “course corrections” to offset the current and stay closer to where my towel was. But when the flag was green, i didn’t pay much attention.
That’s often how it is for us in life. The days that the warning flags are red or yellow, we are more attentive to where we came from. But on those other days when the green flag is flying—those days of warmth and sunshine—we can tend to drift and not even be concerned.
That’s what Joshua was trying to tell the people. Don’t be lulled away by the current. Don’t lose sight of where you are. Don’t forget… keep your eye on Him… and don’t forget to be thankful!
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You can read about Joshua’s message to the Israelites in the Book of Joshua, chapter 23.
This post is taken from chapter 37 of my book, Possessing The Promise. For more information about the book, click here.
(1) Joshua 23:1-16 (NLT)
The years passed, and the LORD had given the people of Israel rest from all their enemies. Joshua, who was now very old, called together all the elders, leaders, judges, and officers of Israel. He said to them, “I am now a very old man. You have seen everything the LORD your God has done for you during my lifetime….”
(2) Romans 8:31 (NKJ)
(3) Psalm 42:1 (NKJ)
(4) Psalm 107:36
(5) John 14:2-3 (NKJ)
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