Accept God's Best, Nothing Less

by Timothy Howe

A Promise Fulfilled

We have seen the story of Joshua, God granted the people of Israel their Promised Land. What God said he would accomplish for this people, He did. 

His fulfilled promise demonstrated his care.

He cared about Abraham. Abraham would be called a friend of God. He followed God by faith. God's fulfilled promise was a fulfillment of His relationship with Abraham.

He cared about the Israelites. He protected them as they wandered through the desert. He provided for them in their hunger. His presence proceeded them and followed them on their journey. 

He cared about His promise. God keeps his word. The entrance into the Promised Land by Israel shows that God is faithful. 

A Promise Deferred

At the very time that God manifested His faithfulness, part of Israel demonstrated their faithlessness. 

Eastern Tribes

Joshua 22 records the story of 2½ tribes who decided that they did not want what God promised. The tribes had noticed other land that they preferred which was outside of the scope of what the Lord had in store for them. 

The Land of Gilead

These 2½ tribes returned to the land they originally wanted in 22:1-6. They had chosen the land of Gilead on account of their wealth matched the perceived wealth of the land. We find this story in Numbers 32:1-5. This land was outside of the promise of God (22:9). The result ended up with most of the people of Israel in land of Canaan and these Eastern Tribes remaining in land of Gilead.

The Eastern tribes stayed in Gilead because they thought they knew best. They failed because they thought they knew best. Truly the Lord knows what is best for us. 

An altar at the Jordan

The Eastern Tribes made the situation worse by erecting an altar at the Jordan out of in direct disobedience to God's word. The nation of Israel was instructed to worship the Lord only at the Tabernacle. The Eastern Tribes' altar resembled a worship site so much that the other tribes were willing to go to war with them. The Eastern Tribes explained that the altar was only a memorial stone. The truth is that the altar represented their selfishness  and fear. (22:24ff) 

The assembly of Israel accepted the altar and the explanation of the Eastern Tribes because it was good in the eyes of the people of Israel. They thought they knew best. They failed because they thought they knew best.

Disappearance

As you read the rest of the story of Israel, one thing stands out. These 2½ would eventually disappeared. They merged into the other peoples who inhabited the land of Gilead. They would worship their gods and turn their back on God. Their rejection of God's best led to their ultimate demise.

Are you wandering?

You might be wandering during a desert time in your life. Rely on God to bring you through it. Wait on the the Lord. He will see you to what He has in store for you. 

Are you waiting?

Can you imagine? The Lord has something planned, and people would willingly choose a different outcome. Yet, I wonder how many of us do that very thing. We are on the path of God's best for our life, when we get distracted by something else. Some of these distractions might even be "good," but they are not God's "best." Why accept something inferior to God's best?

Have the courage to accept God’s best for your life and nothing less.

Wait for God’s Best, Nothing Less

by Timothy Howe

The Promised Land
Joshua 22-24 wraps up the story of Israel entering into the Promised Land. The Promised Land was the name given to ancient Canaan after God promised to Abraham that his descendants would one day inherit the territory as their own. Hundreds of years had transpired from the time of the initial promise until it actually takes place. Entrance into this land was evidence that God keeps His word. 


Sidetracked
The story of the Israelites moving into the Promised Land is one about delaying God's best. About 40 years previous to the events described in Joshua the Israelites stood on the brink of receiving the promise when they rejected it and chose to live in the desert. They made this decision based on fear, lack of confidence, and the personal wisdom. Had they chosen to set aside fear, had they chosen to be confident in the Lord, had they chosen to walk in His wisdom and not their own, they could have received the promise an entire generation sooner. 


Completion of a Plan
The book of Joshua is one that many people have trouble with due to the war narratives and seemingly capricious nature of God. Sometimes it is hard to make out what actions are the result of directives from God and which ones are from man. Ultimately, the story is about the fulfillment of a plan that God  had for His chosen people - a people not chosen on merit, but chosen on account of the faithfulness of their ancestor Abraham. What God begins, he completes. 



An Inheritance
Joshua 24:28 tells us - So Joshua sent the people away, every man to his inheritance. The reception of the Promised Land is recorded in Joshua with the final note being this word about their receiving their inheritance. When I think of an inheritance, I usually imagine someone just getting it. There does not usually seem to be any work involved. So if the Promised Land was an inheritance, why did they have to conquer it? In looking at the entrance into the Land, it seems that when they did try to do so on their own terms they suffered humiliating defeats or made inappropriate compromises. When they followed God's plan it was sort of like just accepting an inheritance. This leads me to conclude that maybe they kept trying to make things harder that they actually were. The Land was already given to them. All that they had to do was go and possess it. Yet even this they turned into a matter of hard work as if to prove how worthy they were to receive it. 


A Purpose for Every Person
I am convinced that God has a plan for everyone, a purpose for every person, and that His plans have our best in mind. Sometimes we don't realize them until later. We just have to wait. 


What promises from God are you waiting on right now?
What hopes in God are you clinging to right now?
Hang on. Don't give up. Be faithful and the Faithful One will act.


Ask yourself, 
How am I being sidetracked from God's best for me?
Am I truly willing to wait until God completes His best for me?
Will I accept His inheritance?
What is my purpose in this world?