History or History Maker

Have you ever felt stuck in a failure mindset? I think Joshua felt some of the same sentiments. For forty years he wandered around a wilderness because of someone else’s mistake, but now God was calling him to lead and step out in faith once again. Moses, his leader, had died and now Joshua was in charge, but would he be up for this season of redemption?

Facing the city of Jericho I can imagine that it seemed as though the walls had gotten even bigger, stronger and more fortified. Before, when Joshua was a spy, he had stood in the face of adversity with no fear. The scripture recalls Joshua as being bold, courageous, a warrior, but now…. now he’s forty years older and has a new challenge called history. You see, he knew the last time he stepped out with great courageous things didn’t go as he had planned. Now, he had walls that he was facing not only physically, but now he also had walls that had been building for the last forty years in his heart and mind—walls of insecurity, rejection, doubt and fear. 

For forty years, he walked with people that once wanted to stone him. I’m sure there were times he felt humiliated and rejected, but the path to a miraculous resurrection is paved with rejection and failures of all types. Jesus understands being righteous, standing for the right things, and feeling forsaken, yet his identity remained secured from the cross to grave to resurrection. Not even the tomb could hold Christ down because the source of His power was not the acceptance of people, it was the acceptance of the Father.

Failure in life either becomes you or it drives you to become.  We can recognize the warning signs of a failure mindset by thoughts like: 

·       I’ll never be more than this. 

·       This is all God has for me. 

·       I don’t deserve good things. 

·       I’m being punished for my past. 

·       Why should I even try? 

These notions bring to us a settling spirit that cripples and blinds our capacity for more. Friend, when we set our eyes on Jesus, who is our example, we become more and more like Him: righteous, confident, bold, peaceful, victorious. In doing so, we can be courageous in the face of failure and disappointments. If we choose to see what God sees, we will have the courage to live without limitations.

Let me encourage you with this: you are not who you think you are. You are not a failure; you are a success waiting to happen! 

Joshua had a choice to make: do I stay stuck in history or make history? He chose wisely and he saw those very “strong” walls crumble like cake through a courageous act of obedience. So today, choose what Joshua did, be a history maker! Let those wall crumble away!

You can do it! 

Celeste