I went on a date with God. The very first one I had with Him. I had never before gone out of my way to spend time with Him like this.
April 5, 2014: Saturday morning
Before the sun rose, I got up, left the dormitory, and headed to the hill on the park – where I had planned to watch the sun rise as I read the Bible.
It did not go as I had planned. I had wanted to sit on the wooden chair by the trees that I had seen the last time I was there, but I could not find it in the dark, even with my flashlight. So I sat on a bench.
I did not know what to read, but I was certain God would lead me to the passage He wanted me to read.
I opened my Bible, and noticed a passage that I took interest in. It did not make sense to me reading just that part of the chapter, so I read the whole chapter. That was Joshua chapter 22.
It was not what I expected it to be. In all honesty, I was looking for a guilt trip. I had not been perusing the Bible with zeal, as I should be, I had been more likely to compromise. I had started to lose interest, though I wanted to be interested in Him and His Word.
However, a guilt trip wasn’t what God had wanted for me. Neither was the following chapter, apparently, coz I did not finish it. I went right back to the 22nd chapter, and looked up a passage referenced in it. That passage is found in Numbers 25.
I’ll back up a little here and talk a little about what is mentioned in those chapters. If you want the full story, go read them yourself. I’m sure what God has prepared for you to learn is different from what I had learned.
Joshua 22 is about the time when Israel almost went to war against itself, when the majority of the tribes thought the others had rebelled against God. The passage in Numbers 25 that was mentioned in Joshua 22 is about the time when Israel was with harlots from Midian (‘the iniquity of Peor’). That act by the Israelites caused a plague among them.
Some things that stood out to me in these passages:
- It is good to create monuments and altars and symbols to remind us of and point us to God, as long as we do not replace God with them.
- When in doubt about what fellow brother or sister in Christ is doing, go talk to them about it first. You might be misreading the situation, and could be causing strife between you, if you do not try to get their side of things first.
I remembered these as I prayed Psalm 5.
I had gone and looked up a psalm to pray after reading the first 2 chapters, and found Psalm 5. I added to it and personalized it as I prayed.
And my prayer included these:
- I asked God to give me monuments in my life that point to Him. I get distracted easily, so I like to have things that remind me of my path.
- In my prayer, I said I’d look to God and follow and trust His leading. I said I’d go out and make Him my only audience. Though others may see and watch what I’m doing, God will be the One I’m performing for.
- I asked that He help me not to go to the left or right and stray from the path He has set for me and follow the counsel of the wicked.
My God, my treasure 