In Case You Missed It

As we read and study Scripture, we should pay special attention to the times that the Lord repeats himself. It is almost as if He's saying to us: "In case you missed it, here is something I've already told you that you need to remember."

In Joshua 1, the Lord commands Joshua to be strong and courageous not once, not twice, but three separate times (v. 6, 7 and 9). God had just reminded him the promise he had made to Moses when he freed his people from Egypt to give them their home and that He would never leave or forsake them (v. 3-5). Along the way, He commands Joshua not to depart or deviate in any way from the Book of the Law and he will be successful (v. 7-8). Why did God need to remind Joshua three times to be strong and courageous?

Imagine for a moment if God had just given Joshua the command to take Jericho as recorded in Joshua 6 without preparing him first. The conversation could have gone like this: "Okay Josh, here's what's gonna happen. Your gonna march around this heavily armed and fortified city for six days. Then on day 7, take seven more laps around it , blow the trumpets and the walls of Jericho are going drop like a bad habit." We can imagine the multitude of ways Joshua might have reacted--probably none of them positive--and certainly fear would have been present.

In our fast-paced lives where we are trying to do more and more as fast as possible, we must remember that the Lord is often working behind the scenes which makes His timing more important than ours. God's calling in our life is rarely crystal-clear and the methods that He chooses to accomplish it are often beyond our understanding. But if our Heavenly Father chooses to repeat himself, we better choose to pay attention.