Encouraging weary women to hope in Christ alone
Today I’m sharing a weekend audio teaching for First 5 from the book of Joshua. As Joshua describes the land boundaries for the Israelites’ inheritance, we’re reminded of the inheritance given to us in Christ and secured by His life, death, and resurrection for us.
Click here to listen or read a transcript! And I hope you’ll consider downloading the First 5 app and joining us in our study of Joshua.
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Today I’m sharing a teaching for First 5 from Joshua 13. Here’s a preview . . .
Today’s Reading: Joshua 13:1-7
Joshua 13:1 (ESV) “Now Joshua was old and advanced in years, and the LORD said to him, ‘You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess.'”
I have a love-hate relationship with to-do lists. I love the sense of accomplishment that comes from checking tasks off my list, but I feel defeated when I realize I didn’t get anything done. Sometimes I have to cross out “Monday” from the top and replace it with “Tuesday.” Many days, there aren’t enough hours to get it all done, and some days, there aren’t enough hours to get even one thing done.
In today’s passage, God pointed out that Joshua was “old and advanced in years” (Joshua 13:1). This reality creates tension in the story because there was still “very much land to possess” (Joshua 13:1). As we read about the regions that still needed to be conquered, we might start to get nervous. Will Joshua be able to finish the job in the time he has left?
We find the answer in Joshua 13:6b-c, where God said: “I myself will drive them out from before the people of Israel. Only allot the land to Israel for an inheritance, as I have commanded you.” Joshua had his marching orders from the Lord, and they didn’t include fretting over how much still needed to be done.
Click here to read the entire teaching, and you can also download the First 5 app to join us on our journey through the book of Joshua!
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This past weekend, I was driving my 12-year-old daughter to visit a grieving friend. My daughter looked at me with sadness in her eyes and said, “The older I get, the more people I know who have died.” I wish I could protect her from this experience that adults know all too well. The longer we live in this fallen world, the more we feel the sting of suffering and heartbreak.
On those painful days, we can find comfort in the promises of God. We find some of those promises paraphrased by the hymn writer in this fourth verse of “How Firm a Foundation”:
“E’en down to old age all my people shall prove
my sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
and when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,
like lambs they shall still in my bosom be borne.”
Like all of us, my daughter is learning that our human relationships change over time, and we can’t always count on the same people to be there for us for decades. But God’s sheltering, compassionate love will never run out or change. As long as we live, God will carry us like lambs in His arms because of His sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love.
“For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” (Psalm 100:5)
“He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.” (Isaiah 40:11)
When the Old Testament talks about God’s love, it uses a Hebrew word translated in our Bibles as “steadfast love.” As we read over and over and over again about God’s steadfast love, we learn that God’s love isn’t capricious. It doesn’t depend on our behavior or circumstances.
God’s steadfast love is sovereign. He chose to love us and sent His Son to prove it. (1 John 4:9-10)
God’s steadfast love is eternal. God’s love never ends, and nothing—not even death—can separate us from it. (Romans 8:38-39)
God’s steadfast love is unchangeable. We can count on His love and faithfulness to remain the same throughout all our days. (Jeremiah 31:3)
No matter what you face this week, you will never outgrow or outlast God’s steadfast love.
** You can read the first three posts in this “How Firm a Foundation” hymn series here, here, and here. **
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I hate it when my friends are hurting. I can sit with them, pray for them, and bring them chicken enchiladas. But I often feel powerless. I can be with them, but I can’t do anything about their pain.
As we’re walking through the hymn “How Firm a Foundation,” we find biblical promises from God described in verses 3 and 4. These promises demonstrate God’s presence with us in our suffering. But His presence isn’t passive— it is an active presence that truly makes a difference. Here are verses 3 and 4:
“When through the deep waters I call you to go, the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow; for I will be with you, your troubles to bless, and sanctify to you your deepest distress.
When through fiery trials your pathway shall lie, my grace, all sufficient, shall be your supply; the flame shall not hurt you; I only design your dross to consume and your gold to refine.”
Only our God has the power to take our deepest hurts and turn them into blessings. Only our God can take the evil in this world and use it for His good purposes. Only our God can work in our darkest hours to transform us so that we shine more brightly for Him. Consider what these verses say about how God works in our suffering . . .
“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” (Romans 5:3-4)
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. ” (James 1:2-3)
If you’re walking through a flood or a fire today, know this promise is true: God made you, redeemed you, and called you by name. You are His. Fear not, because He is with you. (Isaiah 43:1-2)
No matter what you face this week, God is with you in your suffering.
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