The Motivation of Fear

Whether we like it or not, fear is a good motivator.

As I read the events that take place in the seventh chapter of Joshua, I can just imagine the fear that must be felt by the Israelites.

Someone had disobeyed God at Jericho by pocketing some of the goods, and God was about to call him out.

As all the Israelites gathered around, God told the tribe of Judah to step forward.  As the other eleven tribes all sighed with relief, the members of Judah's tribe took a tentative step forward.

From the tribe of Judah, God called out the family group of Zerah.  All other groups moved back, while Zerah's members remained.

Of the family group of Zerah, God pointed to the family of Zabdi.

As the members of the Zabdi family stood, with knees knocking together, God said, "Achan.  Come here."

As Achan was singled out, Joshua asked, "Achan, tell the truth.  What have you done?"

And Achan confessed.  He had taken a coat, some gold, and some silver for himself back at Jericho.

But his disobedience didn't just cost Achan his life.  It also cost the life of his family.  Achan's sons and his daughters, and everything he owned paid for his sin with their lives.

The thought of having to pay for my sins is one thing, but the thought of my family having to pay for my sins is something different altogether.  Yet the account of Achan is just one of many examples in God's Word where the sin of one affected the entire household.

When I may otherwise be tempted to sin, the fear of my family members being punished for my sins motivates me to stand firm.

Happy Camper

Today during my quiet time, I read about Joshua and the defeat of Jericho (Joshua 5:13 - 6:27).  This is a very familiar story (especially with the Veggie Tales rendition, "Josh and the Big Wall"), but I read it with a new perspective today.

God commanded Joshua and the Israelites to march around the city one time each day for six days.  But on the seventh day, they marched around the city seven times.  This clearly says to me that they had time to march around the city seven times in a day.  So on the days when they only marched once, what did they do with the rest of their time?  The passage of scripture only tells us that they "went back to camp."

In today's world, I can't even imagine having extra time!  Every moment is taken up by something.  I wonder if God was suggesting through his strategy of defeating Jericho that we are not equipped to spend every waking minute "marching around in circles", but that we need to spend a good part of our time "back at camp."

Lesson From an Unlikely Source

A few weeks ago, my son and I were outside watching several orb weaver spiders spinning their webs.  These little spiders, while they possess all the creepy "spider-ish" qualities, are fascinating little creatures.  As dusk gives way to night, these spiders seem to come out of nowhere and spin intricate webs, often near light sources to attract their prey.  But by the light of the morning, the spiders, along with their webs, are nowhere to be found.

As we were watching the spiders, I happened to catch a video of one of the spiders whose web had caught what must have seemed like a Thanksgiving feast--a big, fat, juicy June bug.  At the bottom of this post, I have included the video of the spider as it secured its prey onto its web.

As I watched the spider, it made me stop and think:  I have never seen one of these orb weaver spiders try to build a nest in a tree as a bird would.  I have also never seen one try to catch a mouse or a rat as a cat would do.  In fact, that would be absurd.  The spider does exactly what it was created to do; spin a web and catch bugs.

Sometimes I wish I was more like that.  I can't even begin to tell you how many times I have tried to take on a  task that I simply wasn't created to do.  God has designed me to do many things, but there are just as many other things that I was not designed to do.  How many times have I signed up for an area of service that I clearly wasn't cut out for?  More times than I care to admit!  And the result is I often end up feeling like God's yoke is anything but light!  And the real tragedy is I sometimes end up being too tired or too frustrated to serve where I was intended to serve all along.

Paul wrote in Philippians 2:13: "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him." (NLT, italics added)

I think we can all learn a lesson from the orb weaver spider; be content to do what you have been created to do!

Everything is Relative

OK.  So I've been seriously negligent about posting on here.  But I have been taking pictures and video...I promise!  I just haven't had a chance to upload them and post them to my blog.  I know that only raises my grade up to like a C-, but at least I'm passing...right?

Anyway, when I went on vacation a few weeks ago (has it really been that long??), my friend saw something crawling on my face. (Side note:  When someone looks at your face really intently and says, "Don't move.  Hold really still," did you know that is the last thing you feel like doing?)  Being the good friend that she is, she swiped at my face without making full contact and got "whatever it was" off.  It landed on a rail we were standing by, and at first glance, we didn't know what it was.  Upon closer inspection, we realized it was a preying mantis.  However, I've never seen a preying mantis quite like this one.  Here; I'll show you:

Now you might not notice anything that spectacular about it, but, as my high school science teacher always used to say, "Everything is relative."  So let me zoom out and show you the same picture again:

In case you have never seen an adult preying mantis, here is a picture of one (or actually two) I downloaded from Google Images (not my photo):

My point?  It's a wonder that any of these insects survive to adulthood, considering the fact that they start out so small!  This was just a testament to me of how much God takes care of His creation.  The next time you feel small and insignificant, I hope the tiny preying mantis comes to mind! :)

Zooming In on God's Creation

For the next few months I am trading in my pen for my camera.

If we take time to look around us, God's handiwork is everywhere.  He speaks to us through His Word, but He also speaks through His Creation.  Romans 1:20 says, 

"For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."

No one can see God's face and live (Exodus 33:20), but the attributes of God are made known to all of us through His creation.

I am by no means a professional photographer; it is my desire that you would focus, not on the quality of the photos, but on the creativity of our God.

May our faces shine like that of Moses as we gaze upon His glory through the works of His hands.

Humbly His,
Donia

But...? or So...?

Abraham and Moses.  Two icons of the Old Testament.  Two great men, indeed; but two men who had very different responses when called by God.


The first exchange between God and Abraham that was recorded in the Bible occurred in Genesis 12.  The Lord gave Abraham a command, which was followed by a promise:

The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.  “I will make you into a great nation,    and I will bless you; I will make your name great,    and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you,    and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth    will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:1-3)

The very next words written after God's words to Abraham were these:

So Abraham went...

Flip over a few pages to the third chapter of Exodus, and you will find the first exchange between God and Moses.  The Lord also gave Moses a promise, followed by a command.

The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” (Exodus 3:7-10)

The next words recorded after God's words to Moses were these:

But Moses said... 

Two men.  Two commands.  And two very different responses.


Abraham's response was one of complete obedience.  Moses' response was full of questions, concerns, and expressions of doubt.


The God of Abraham and Moses is still God today.  And He still calls for obedience.  When He calls for your obedience, what will your response be?

Will it be but...?

Or will it be so...?

Tomorrow

Frogs.  Everywhere.  And when I say everywhere, I mean everywhere.

A few days ago, I was reading in the seventh chapter of Exodus about the plague of frogs that God sent to the Egyptians.  The frogs were in the Egyptians' houses, in their beds, in their ovens and their pots and pans...not to mention all over the people themselves!

Can you imagine?

As a matter of fact, I have an appreciation for frogs.  I have liked frogs for as long as I can remember.  I took "Toady", my first pet frog with me to kindergarten for show and tell.  As an adult, I even had pet tree frogs, Butch and Ben.

But I would never want frogs all over my house, in my bed, swimming in my toilet, hiding in my pant legs, or living in my pots and pans!

Finally, the Egyptian Pharoah had had enough and cried, "Uncle".  He told Moses to "Pray to the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people" (verse 8).  In exchange, the Pharoah agreed to let the Israelites go (which he later reneged).

Moses replied to the Pharoah's request, "Please set the time when I should pray for you, your people, and your officers.  Then the frogs will leave you and your houses and will remain only in the Nile. (verse 9)"

I find Pharoah's response to be particularly peculiar.

He certainly didn't respond the way I would have responded:  "Set the time?  Did you say set the time, Moses?  Uh, how about now!"

No, when Moses asked him to set the time, Pharoah responded with one word: "Tomorrow."

Why, oh why would Pharoah opt to live with his misery one more day?

Then again, why would we?

The Holy Spirit draws us to himself, "Come," he says.  "Let Me make My home with you."

And what is often our response?

"Maybe tomorrow."  And we opt to live in the darkness of sin one more day.

God holds out His hand and says, "Here, give Me your burdens so you don't have to carry them any longer."

And we say, "Tomorrow, Lord.  I will try to carry them a little longer."

Let's not respond as Pharoah did, and needlessly live with our burdens one more day.

Turn your "tomorrow" into "today".