Bowing Before Battle - Joshua 5:10-15 - (2)

As you woke up this morning, got ready for the day, and, possibly, drove to work, what all did you observe? What were some of the things that you took in, not only, with your eyes, but ears, nose, even the sense of feel? Your experience was unique, so what you took in was probably much different than mine.

As you took things in, did it occur to you that they were things God had created, in one way or another. You might have woke up to your beautiful/handsome spouse. Saw your precious kids. Breathed in the fresh air. Ate a delicious breakfast. Saw the gorgeous fall colors. Communicated on your electronic device. Pounded the steering wheel in traffic. All things that allowed you to have the morning you've had.

As Joshua is getting ready for battle, he is confronted by the "commander of the Lord's army", and Joshua falls down and worships. The idea of worshiping is where we are going with revering God. As we revere Him we are tuning our senses to Him. Here are some applications to choose to use this week...

1. Gaze ~The writer of Hebrews instructs us to "fix our eyes on Jesus", and that goes right along with this. May we find ourselves gazing with Him in mind. When we find ourselves looking at something we think is good, we could give God a little shout out of praise.
   
2. Observe ~ Take time to observe people this week. Look at them as people who God loves and that Jesus died for. Allow that to open your eyes to the fact that they are worth your time and effort to share Jesus with them. Look for the tired, the weak, the lonely. For they are in need of your boost. Look for the vibrant, the strong, the crowd-drawers. For they are in need of your boost. Sometimes the ones in the second category are passed up because we think they're OK. Oftentimes they are the tired, weak, and lonely, in vibrant, strong, and crowd-drawing clothes. Observation takes effort. Put in the effort to see who you can be a positive influence toward. Even if they are not tired, weak, and lonely, they all need Jesus!
   
3. Devote/Devotion ~ Complacency is the absence of devotion. When you do not have any devotion, you will become complacent. As you are looking at the things God has done, let it spur you on and lift you up to be more devoted than you were before were revering Him.
   

Joshua revered God before he was going into battle. He looked at Him and was devoted. Then, he removed his shoes, for the place he was standing was holy.

God is worth the effort of gazing, observing, and devoting. Use the effort and opportunities that He's given you to honor Him before you go into "battle".

Looking forward to the battle (aka big event) that is before me...