Final thoughts
It's no surprise that I was led to read the book of Joshua at this point in my life. I've just come out of a really difficult six months where God and I have had some rough conversations, and I've finally had to come to deal with some unresolved emotions that I kept buried because I was "too busy" to deal with them. When I wasn't working, I was suddenly Un-Busy enough to sit in silence and deal with what had been suppressed for so long. Not fun, but necessary.
In the course of doing this study, I interviewed and got a new job leading communications for a church. What divine timing to read a story that illustrates what victory can be achieved when God and Man work together. God gave provision and guidance (and covering) to Joshua, and then Joshua literally did the work on the ground. With Joshua's leadership and God's covering, they were able to do the impossible.
However, failure presented itself when sin popped up. This is troubling to me, and I'd guess most Christians, because sin is everywhere. It permeates your being, and sometimes, because we're fleshly humans, we can't stop it from overtaking us. God knows we're flawed human beings, and that forces us to depend more on Him and trust in Him, but logically it creates a cycle of dependence. We've been taught in the world that co-dependence is a bad thing, but in God's world, it is an imperative. It seems like everything between this world and God's world is a struggle. I see why so many Christians get beat down. The cyclical nature of what it is to be a Christian is exhausting, especially when you read about the punishments of the Old Testament God. He was unrelenting! When does a healthy reverence for God turn into fear? I don't like thinking of my God, who I know for mercy and grace, as a vengeful, mass killer, but this book lets you see that side of God. It's very disconcerting.
Yet, in this book we also see God's mercy and grace as the Israelites struggle. Even though they often got it wrong, God stayed by their side and provided when they needed it most. He says repeatedly in the book 'be strong and of good courage, for I am with you.' He wants us to know that first and foremost. As I go into this new leadership position, I was reminded that God is with me, and I must fully depend on him...that was the message clearly given to me in re-reading and studying these scriptures. This relationship only works when we fully submit to Him, and re-reading these scriptures showed me how that can look - when faced with a challenge or decision, consult Him first. Ask for guidance. And when he gives you a plan, follow it to the letter. Or at least as best you can in your circumstance.
In just reading Joshua in a cursory manner, it's just a story of battles and property division. But in re-reading, a deeper meaning begins to emerge, one of redemption and relationship. God truly is for us, if even we act against ourselves. We do have to fully enter into relationship with him if we want to see any kind of victory.