Sleep has been inconsistent, but it was good this particular morning. I stirred, and snuggled deeper down into my bed, and wondered, “Are those birds I hear chirping?” After several chirps, I realized it was my alarm. “Goodness, was it 5am already?” I rolled over to switch off my alarm and closed my eyes again. “No way, it’s time to get up. I’m still tired.” As I lay in bed, asking the Lord why I was so tired. I heard a gentle whisper in my spirit: “Your yesterday is affecting your today.”
The previous day, Monday, I had skated from thing to thing, task to task without taking a break. I also rushed through my meals. To be honest, while I took care of my last responsibility that evening, I sensed the Lord telling me, “You didn’t take any breaks today.” I finally made my way to bed, and that was the first break in my day.
On Tuesday morning, I rolled onto my back, stared at the ceiling, and realized I had not been intentional about my day on Monday. My lack of intention and attention put me in a position of striving and made me quite tired. I did a lot of good things on Monday, but I wondered if I had missed the God things because I didn’t pause to listen. I ended up skipping my morning walk and stayed in bed a little longer before getting on with my day. Reflecting on how I felt, and what I heard, I entered Tuesday more mindful of what I was doing, listening more intently and being mindful of taking breaks. It may seem like it’s not a big deal, but as I leafed through the Bible in my mind, I landed on the story of Joshua being deceived by the Gibeonites.
“When the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they acted deceptively. They gathered provisions and took worn-out sacks on their donkeys and old wineskins, cracked and mended. They wore old, patched sandals on their feet and threadbare clothing on their bodies. Their entire provision of bread was dry and crumbly. They went to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, ‘We have come from a distant land. Please make a treaty with us.’ The men of Israel replied to the Hivites, ‘Perhaps you live among us. How can we make a treaty with you?’ They said to Joshua, ‘We are your servants.’
Then Joshua asked them, ‘Who are you and where do you come from?’
They replied to him, ‘Your servants have come from a faraway land because of the reputation of the Lord your God. For we have heard of his fame, and all that he did in Egypt, and all that he did to the two Amorite kings beyond the Jordan—King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan, who was in Ashtaroth. So our elders and all the inhabitants of our land told us, ‘Take provisions with you for the journey; go and meet them and say, “We are your servants. Please make a treaty with us.”’ This bread of ours was warm when we took it from our houses as food on the day we left to come to you; but see, it is now dry and crumbly. These wineskins were new when we filled them; but see, they are cracked. And these clothes and sandals of ours are worn out from the extremely long journey.’ Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions, but did not seek the Lord’s decision. So Joshua established peace with them and made a treaty to let them live, and the leaders of the community swore an oath to them.” – Joshua 9:3 -15 CSB
The Israelites had come off the victory of battling Ai, prior to that the walls of Jericho came tumbling down, striking fear in the hearts of the other kings in the surrounding areas. From my perspective, it looks like Joshua and the Israelites let their guard down after riding on two significant victories. They went about business as usual, believed what they saw with their eyes and did not consult the Lord when the Gibeonites came. They consequently made a covenant with the Gibeonites, whom they believed to be distant neighbors when they were, in fact, a stone’s throw away. Had they been intentional and asked the Lord, they would have realized the Gibeonites were being deceptive.
This decision Joshua and the men of Israel made affected Israel’s “today” years later under King David’s rule, the Israelites experienced a famine of three years. When David inquired of the Lord, he was told,
“It is due to Saul and to his bloody family, because he killed the Gibeonites.” – 2 Samuel 21:1 CSB
Saul had attacked and killed the Gibeonites in violation of the peace treaty Joshua had made with them to let them live. A few years later, the nation of Israel paid for that violation. King David summoned the Gibeonites to offer an atonement of their choice so that they could bring a blessing on the Lord’s inheritance.
The more and more I think of the times we are in, the more important it is for me, for us to slow down, and be intentional about hearing from the Lord. Things we may think of as having no consequence may carry consequences for a later generation. The last thing I want to do is create adverse conditions for future generations because of my carelessness and lack of intention. There are so many voices for us to parse through, but the one we must train our ears to recognize always is the voice of the Lord. It’s hard to hear Him though when we’re busy doing “good” things.
Friend, I may sound like a broken record because last week I invited you to sit with the Lord, and today I ask the same. Carve out some time this weekend and sit quietly with Him. Ask Him how to process the things you’re chewing on. Bring Him your pain, sorrow, anguish, joy, confusion, indignation, fear, excitement, contentedness, certainty, uncertainty. Bring all of it to Him. He’s waiting.
Until next week …
Miracles + Blessings!
Brenda
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