Good Good Life

“So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the Lord.” Joshua 9:14 NLT

We are in the book of Joshua. The Israelites have gotten to the Promised Land (Canaan). They’ve conquered Ai and Jericho – the word about their victories and the power of their God has spread among the nations living in Canaan.
In Joshua 9, one of those nations visits Israel to deceive them into a peace treaty to avoid being attacked.

Israelites are examining them and what they’re saying carefully – they’re asking questions, piecing the puzzle together. Everything seems to be making sense.

Until verse 14, which says:

“So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the Lord.” (v14)

In the following verse Joshua, their leader, makes a mistake and agrees to the treaty because “they didn’t consult the Lord.”

The whole chapter reads like a story and verse 14 appears a bit out of nowhere. It disappears in a similar manner, almost as if nothing happened.

But something did happen. Israelites examined things on the outside – what mattered to their human minds and eyes but they forgot about their real compass. The result wasn’t disastrous but it wasn’t good for them either. And the point isn’t only about the visible consequences, but about the invisible – their relationship with God, and the fact that they put their human understanding before trusting God and being guided by Him.

What about you?

Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation? One when you carefully examined all visible pro’s and con’s, gathered evidence etc., felt you’ve done all the sensible things and then, after you’ve made a decision, it hits you that you did not consult the Lord?

Or, maybe, you’re in such situation right now?

How does it feel? When you realise what you’ve done, it hits you, doesn’t it? You can’t believe how you could’ve missed speaking to the Lord about something important; how immersed in the issue you must’ve been that you forgot about the most important person to consult. The person without whom no plan makes sense.

Thankfully, we live under grace and God forgives us even the biggest mistakes.

He also teaches us something through those situations.

We can often think we only need to consult the Lord in the big things, thus making ourselves more self- than God-reliant. He wants to show us how much we need Him in big and small things, and how important is the relationship with Him; walking with Him daily.
The truth is it’s not about the plans themselves and whether they succeed or not, it’s about our partnership with Jesus and 100% trust in Him and his leadership.

Did you consult the Bible?

God reminds us about this throughout the Bible.

Psalm 127:1 (NLT): “Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted.”

Proverbs 16:9 (NLT): “We can make our plans but the Lord determines our steps”

Proverbs 19:21 (NLT): “You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.”

Isaiah 55:8-9 (NLT): “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.’”

Proverbs 16:3 (NLT): “Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT): “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do,  and he will show you which path to take.”

These reminders aren’t there to make us feel guilty because we did something without consulting the Lord; they’re there to remind us that WE aren’t God, that we’re here to do His will and that things really will be smoother if we collaborate with God.

What do these verses make you think about? Are they showing you how to do things differently? How to cling to the Lord just a bit closer?
You might say, ‘but then I can’t make any decision without the Lord’. Why would you want to make ANY decision without the One who knows EVERYTHING.

How do you consult the Lord?

The last piece of the puzzle is HOW do we consult the Lord.
It’s not about special techniques and what’s the process for getting the best results, but about the relationship.
You wouldn’t consult a person you don’t trust, would you?

You wouldn’t consult someone you don’t know, would you?

So, the foundation of any consultation is our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The one we build daily, through sharing our heart, worship, being honest, reading God’s word and fellowship with other believers.

So, we consult the Lord similarly to how we would consult a human. We lay out the issue, we ask questions, we ask His opinion and we read what He’s already shared in His Word about the principles behind our issue. We ask others to help, we consult those who are experts in God’s word and we ask the Holy Spirit to guide us.

And we wait – answers don’t always come straight away and we need to be tuned into receiving them.

There is so much we can learn from this one verse in Joshua 9 – not only about making decisions, but also the nature of our close relationship with God. It’s so wonderful that He wants to be consulted and always wants to show us the best way. Why wouldn’t we want to make the most of everything He is and wants to give us?

What is your takeaway?