Messianic Perspectives

Guest (Female): Are you in trouble? Well, if so, we have good news. The Bible has specific instructions about what to do when you're in trouble. We'll talk about it today right here on Messianic Perspectives.

Liz Aiello: Shalom and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinct first-century Jewish point of view. This is Liz Aiello. Today, Dr. Gary Hedrick is leading our discussion of what to do when you're in trouble. If you have your Bible handy, we invite you to turn to Joshua chapter five and join in. I'll be back a little later with information about a special offer, so have your pencil and paper ready. Now with today's study, here is Dr. Gary Hedrick.

Dr. Gary Hedrick: All right, thank you and welcome, listening friend, to another edition of Messianic Perspectives. It's good to have you with us today as we continue this series of studies on what to do when you're in trouble. In this series of studies, we're looking at something that happened in Joshua chapter five, because Joshua was in trouble. In fact, he was in big trouble. I believe we can learn something by watching the way Joshua faced trouble.

On the last program, we were talking about how some people have the idea that when you come to the Lord, your problems are over. Well, that would be nice if that were true, but that's just not the way it is. In fact, we said some people get into more trouble after becoming a believer than they did before they became a believer. So we came to the conclusion on the last program that trouble is universal. There's no way around it. That's why we need to know how to deal with it.

Here in Joshua chapter five, we're going to see how Joshua dealt with trouble. Now here's what it says in Joshua chapter five, and I'm going to begin reading in verse 13. "And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went unto him and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?"

Verse 14, "And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the LORD am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? And the captain of the LORD'S host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so."

So here's how Joshua responded to the trouble in his life. We're going to talk about four things. To make it easier for you to remember these four things, they all begin with W. The first thing is that Joshua waited. "And it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho," the Bible says. In other words, he didn't rush into battle. He waited on the Lord.

We said last time that one of the hardest things God asks us to do is to wait. Isn't it ironic that the Christian's hardest assignment, his most difficult assignment, is not something he has to do, but it's something he doesn't do? Because the hardest thing is to do nothing, to just wait. It's hard. If you don't believe me, just try it sometime. It's a discipline.

But the waiting is not for God's benefit, it's for our benefit. God isn't late. He's not behind schedule. It's not like when my poor wife Marsha is waiting for me because I'm on the phone, or I'm in a meeting, or I'm doing something else, getting ready. She says she spent half of her life waiting for me, and I don't doubt that that's true. But that's not the kind of waiting we're talking about here. It's not because God is late or because He needs a little more time.

Actually, the Hebrew word for wait here is *kavah*. The literal meaning of the word is to gather together. It's related to the Arabic word for rope, where many strands are wound together, twisted together to form a rope. That's what makes a rope strong, the fact that it is many strands twisted together. That's the idea behind this word wait, *kavah* in Hebrew.

That's why the Bible says those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. Why? Because we're taking the time to gather ourselves together. That's the literal meaning of this word *kavah*. This means the waiting is not passive. It means taking the time to gather together our mental and spiritual resources. It means gathering our thoughts together. It means forming a strategy. It means focusing on God rather than on the problem. You see, it's a discipline.

Most of all, waiting on the Lord means leaving the timing in God's hands. When we pray, what do we want? We want instant answers. When we're in trouble, we want instant relief. Because that's our society. That's the way we live. Everything is instant. Everything is right now. You can cook a whole meal in your microwave in three or four minutes. You can bake a potato in the microwave in two or three minutes. That's our mentality, but it's not God's mentality because He's using our troubles and our problems to form us and to shape us, to make us more like His Son. And you know what? He's not in a hurry. He takes His time.

Remember Abraham and Sarah in the book of Genesis. God had promised them a son, but He took His time in fulfilling that promise. Abraham and Sarah had a real hard time with that. They were both getting up in years and they knew that every year that passed made it even less likely that they would ever be able to conceive and bear a child.

So what did they do? They got tired of waiting and they took matters into their own hands. They decided God needed a little help. So Sarah gave Abraham her handmaiden to have a child by her. And that was not unheard of in their society back in those days. There was a provision in the law for such a thing. A man who had no male heir could take another wife and have a child by her, and that child could become his heir. So it was legal, but just because it was legal did not mean it was right.

So what did God do? First, He made it clear to Abraham and Sarah that Ishmael was not the child of promise. I mean, Abraham cried and pled with God and he said, "Please Lord, let Ishmael be acceptable in Your sight." But God said, "No, he's not the son I promised. He is not the one, Abraham."

And what did God do? He waited another ten years. Sarah had already gone through the change of life. I mean, it was really impossible now. But what happened? Little Isaac was born. In Hebrew, his name is *Yitzchak*. It means laughter. You see, when you start thinking something is impossible, you'd better just watch out because God is liable to do it. He specializes in doing the impossible. In fact, the more impossible something is, the better He likes it.

And that's a lesson Abraham and Sarah learned the hard way 4,000 years ago. But you know what? We'd better not be too hard on Abraham and Sarah because most of us have never waited as long as they waited for an answer to prayer. They waited for years and years and years. And then after Ishmael came along, they waited for another ten years.

Let me ask you a question. Have you ever wanted something so badly you prayed for it for ten years, or 20 years, or 30 years? I mean, this is where the rubber meets the road. When you pray for something, how badly do you want it? Most of us give up after praying for a few days for something. Abraham and Sarah prayed for years and years and nothing happened. So they got impatient.

It's easy for you and for me to say, "Well, they should have been willing to wait." But when was the last time you waited for ten years, 15 years, 20 years for God to answer a prayer? Or let me bring it down a little closer to home. When was the last time you prayed for just one year, 365 days? When was the last time you prayed for one solid year for God to do something for you?

So we'd better get down off of our high horses and quit being so judgmental toward Abraham and Sarah, because most of us don't know what it is to pray for something for years and years. I mean 20 years, 25 years, 30 years. We just play around with prayer. We're not really serious about it. It's just like, "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep," and we think that's what prayer is. "Bless mommy and daddy and grandma and grandpa and my dog and my cat," and that's it.

God, give us some prayer warriors who have spiritual discernment and power and determination. People who can wrestle with God in prayer like Jacob did in the book of Genesis. He wanted the blessing so badly he wouldn't let go of God until he got what he asked for. And you know, that touched the heart of God. It touched the heart of Almighty God that here was a man who knew the value of the blessing.

He didn't take it for granted. He didn't sell it for a bowl of porridge. He wanted God's blessing and he was going to hold on all night long until he got it. And he did. He held on all night long. As long as there was breath in his body, Jacob was going to hold on. Now you know that angel of the Lord could have just flicked old Jacob off like I take my finger and flick a mosquito off my arm. It would have been that easy. But he let Jacob hold on.

There was something about it that touched the heart of God. I believe there is something about wrestling with God in prayer that also touches the heart of God. And when we wait, that means we're leaving the timing to God. If it takes one week, one month, one year, five years, or 50 years, it's an act of faith, leaving the timing to God.

Well, that's all we have time for today. So the first thing Joshua did here in chapter five was he waited. That's the first thing we do when we're in trouble, and we'll pick it up here on the next program as we continue our series on what to do when you're in trouble. Until then, this is your friend Gary Hedrick saying God bless you, take care, bye-bye.

Liz Aiello: Thank you, Gary. And thank you, listening friend, for tuning in today. It's always good to have you with us, whether you're listening from home, at work, or in your car. By the way, if you found today's program helpful, you'll be glad to know that the entire series is available on one convenient compact disc. The title is simply *What to Do When You're in Trouble*, and it's yours for a gift of just six dollars or more to help us keep this program on your station.

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