Serve the Lord with Gladness

In the book of Joshua, God holds back the waters of the Jordan as Joshua leads the Israelites across it into the promised land. God had commanded that the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant stand in the middle of the river until the entire nation was standing on dry ground on the other side. 

After the nation had crossed over to the other side, Joshua obeyed the Lord’s command and chose twelve men to return to the middle of the river and pick up one stone each. The reason for this was so they could make a memorial of stones to remember how the Lord held back the waters of the Jordan and to tell their children about what the Lord had done for his holy people. When I read this, I considered the priests. They had been carrying the Ark and still needed to carry it the rest of the way to camp. They were getting closer, but then they were asked to stand in the river, holding the Ark of the covenant, and wait.

I asked myself, If I were the priests carrying the Ark, would I have been happy to wait? I’m assuming the Ark was slightly heavy and was a chore to carry. Once the nation had crossed the river, I would have been ready to get to camp and set the Ark back down, but God commanded them to wait. God had commanded Joshua to have them wait, which means the priests were in a position where being obedient to God meant being obedient to Joshua. They did not hear directly from God, but God spoke to Joshua. Had God asked me to wait, I would have gladly waited. Having been told to wait by Joshua, I would have had a more difficult time waiting. Sometimes being obedient to God is about listening to how God is working through someone else and helping them to execute what God has asked them to do. 

As I thought about this story more, I thought about how I would have reacted if I had been asked to go back into the river, pick up a stone, and carry it to camp. Some things to take note of: (1) these stones were large enough that they had to be carried on their shoulders, and (2) they did not know how far they would have to carry the stones. With that in mind, I don’t think I would have happily gone and picked up one of the stones. Picking up one of these stones would have been hard, I would have questioned if it was necessary, and I would have wished that Joshua chose someone else to do it instead of me. 

As we were preparing to start ministry in Guatemala, I wrestled greatly with this passage. We were preparing to go out into the communities and serve, possibly in ways we weren’t planning on serving. I asked myself if I would complain if our plan for the day changed and I was asked to do something I didn’t want to do. I was nervous to start ministry for this reason, but once we started talking with the locals, all of that slipped away. I wasn’t worried I would struggle to serve them because I loved talking with them. Talking with God’s people and building relationships with them is the most life-giving thing I have done. When I started to see people as made in God’s image, I couldn’t help but pour my heart out to them and love them. I learned that serving God brings meaning and joy to life.

“Serve the Lord with Gladness” (Pslam 100:2a, ESV).

We often talk about having a heart that breaks for what breaks God’s heart, but then we stay in our bubbles with the people we are comfortable with. When I was living like this, I wasn’t fully living. I was living a safe life, avoiding the uncomfortable. We become better vessels for God to work through when we get uncomfortable. Coming to Guatemala, I didn’t think I would be able to talk with the people. I took Spanish in school but hadn’t taken a Spanish class or used the language for two years. I was afraid to step outside of my comfort zone and talk to the people in Spanish, but when I did, I was able to pray for them and understand their stories. God used what I had to minister to his people and show them his love, all I had to do was do the uncomfortable. 

I challenge you to get uncomfortable. At first, it’s hard and scary, but it brings growth and makes life exciting. Don’t get stuck living the same day every day, but do something uncomfortable. Talk to new people, pray for people, and love people.

For those who are interested, the passage from Joshua I was referring to is Joshua 3-4. I recommend reading it, imagining yourself in the story, and wrestling through what you would do and what your attitude would be.