“but they did not ask counsel of the Lord”
Joshua 9:14
~
I watched some news first thing in the morning. I was waking up a little bit, and watched a show on FoxNews. I like to stay up-to-date, ya know? After that I watched a little bit of HGTV while the kids were getting up. I was not completely watching, as I was catching up on emails and organizing my brain for the day, too.
Breakfast was quick-cooked grits with butter and salt. It’s one of my favorite breakfasts, but I don’t eat it every day because I read somewhere that it’s not a good idea to eat the same breakfast every day. Of course, I also read somewhere else that having the same thing for breakfast every day is a great idea, so… whatareyagonnado, ya know?
Then I exercised (ersatz yoga and riding the stationary bike) and showered.
Scintillating, isn’t this?
I also sat and watched TV with my daughter for awhile. She wasn’t feeling well, so she had one of those lie-around-on-the-couch days. So I joined her for awhile, to keep her company.
And I read and I did dishes and finished the last load of laundry. I talked to my folks on the phone, making a few plans for the weekend.
Later in the afternoon I had to take my son to his first hockey practice for his new team. It was a voluntary practice, but we (he included) thought he should go, to get off to a good start on this team. Hit the ice skating, if you will… Problem was, it was in a town about 40 minutes away. That’s 40 minutes with no traffic. I didn’t know what to expect at 4:00 on a Thursday. I also didn’t know how to get where I was going, or where to park, or where in the rink he should report, or what the traffic was going to be like coming home. I asked the Apple of my Eye most of these questions at lunchtime. Some he could answer and some he couldn’t, so in the afternoon, my boy and I were off to figure it all out.
It’s a nice rink. Not too cold, which is nice. You can’t believe the difference it makes when the bleachers are made of wood instead of metal. I read my book, a very curious an interesting tale from 1946 about a lonely little girl who discovers a group of Lilliputians living on her family’s estate. I think I picked it up off the “free” shelf at our local library. Quirky and odd. I know those words kinda mean the same thing, but I need them both, cuz the book is just that unconventional. Whoops! There’s another one… Cute, though. I’m enjoying it.
When we got home (there was very little traffic on the drive home, thank God) dinner was waiting for us. Slumgullion. Which, if you don’t know (or even if you do) is small noodles, like elbow or shells, with canned tomatoes, ground beef and black olives. Sometimes also with sautéed onions and zucchini, too, but I wasn’t the one doing the cooking, so not tonight…
Oh and salad. My hubby and our girl handled dinner, and everything was delicious. The rest of the evening consisted of a little TV, a little reading, and a little writing.
I suppose you’re wondering why I’m telling you all this. Well, it’s because I was recently reminded of the story of the Israelites and the Gibeonites, in Joshua 9. The standout verse for me is at the top of this page ~ verse 14.
There’s just something about that verse, isn’t there? Without even reading further in this chapter, you immediately have a sense of foreboding. This is not going to go well for Joshua and the men of Israel. And why? Because they are taking steps without consulting the Lord in prayer. And in doing so, they trusted liars.
These liars had come to enact a peace treaty with the Israelites. They’d heard how the Israelites were defeating in battle everyone they fought, and they were worried. So they decided the best defense would be a good peace treaty. But they didn’t want Joshua to know they were from nearby, cuz those were the nations God had told Joshua to defeat. So they disguised themselves to look like they’d been traveling for a good long time, and convinced Joshua to promise not to harm their people. And Joshua agreed. Just like that.
But they were liars. Liars who carefully disguised themselves, and crafted an elaborate story. They made it look real, and look plausible, and they made it look like a good idea to Joshua and the men of Israel.
And of course, it’s hard not to read this passage with a certain amount of disdain for our heroes. Shame on them! No matter how much trouble someone goes through to deceive them, had they taken it to the Lord, He would have protected them.
But then I look at my day. And no matter how much I may roll my eyes at the foolishness of these people, I cannot for a moment pretend that I am not criticizing myself. Today was a pretty ordinary, average day, in which I made an uncountable number of decisions ~ nearly all of those without the counsel of the Lord.
Each day is different of course, and brings different courses of action. Sometimes my choices are small and sometimes they are big, but only the Lord knows how much they change the course of my life. I have the awesome privilege to be able to pray any time I want, without a reservation, and without an appointment. Indeed, I am commanded to pray without ceasing. But I live a whole lot of my life without doing that.
He wants to bless my life through my decisions, but He also wants me to bless Him through my constant trust in Him. The key is to decide to decide nothing, without first deciding to see what He decides.
Light Expectations 