"Just Do It!"

Sometimes when kids are told to do something they ask, "why?" And sometimes a parent answers, "Because I said so!" That's not a great parenting style all the time, but there are situations where that's all you can say. Explanations won't work, the situation is urgent, or reasoning would require more information than the parent can give, so they just give an order with the expectation of obedience. Blessed is the child who will accept that and do what is asked of them. Blessed is the parent of such a child, too!

Sometimes our Father in Heaven says, "just do it!" He expects we will obey. The Israelites had two of those kinds of experiences as they were entering the Promised Land after their long wander through the wilderness. First, they came to the crossing of the Jordan River. God told them to ready themselves for the crossing. They could see the river was at flood stage! How was this going to work out? But, they prepared to cross. "As soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river's edge, the water above that point began backing up a great distance away at a town called Adam, which is near Zarethan. And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea until the riverbed was dry. Then all the people crossed over near the town of Jericho." (Joshua 3:15-16, NLT) The whole nation walked across the dry riverbed and into their new home! A test of faith, to be sure, but God was faithful.
The first fortified town they encountered was Jericho. "Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in." (Joshua 6:1, NIV) There, too, God issued a command that was without explanation. "Go and march around the town once each morning for a whole week, then on the seventh day, march around it seven times, and blow the trumpets! When you hear the trumpets, shout the victory shout." I wonder if that sounded as silly to those people as it does to us? And yet, they did it! "When the people heard the sound of the rams' horns, they shouted as loud as they could. Suddenly, the walls of Jericho collapsed, and the Israelites charged straight into the town and captured it." (Joshua 6:20, NLT)

Disciple, we are wise to obey the Lord's directive even when we want to whine, "But, why?"
He says, "Forgive those who offend you," we must just do it.
He says, "Put me first in your use of resources," and we must just do it.
He says, "Love your enemies," and we must just do it.
He says, "Stop fretting about tomorrow," and we must choose to trust and obey.

The nation of Israel was not always as obedient as they were in the examples I used a moment ago. Often in their long history, they resisted the Lord, argued against His will, and even ignored Him. Their long history reveals that when they choose short-term self-interest over long-term obedience, there were always negative consequences. When they were willing to 'just do it,' they discovered the goodness of the Lord in unanticipated ways. The key was faith to believe God, even when it made no sense in the moment!
Take one of the Bible's shortest prayers with you today. When you struggle to obey, just breathe this one line prayer. It was first prayed by a father who was in terrible distress over his son's terrible condition. He brought the boy to Jesus. Take a look.
"If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."
" 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."
Immediately the boy's father exclaimed,
"I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"
When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit.
"You deaf and mute spirit," he said, "I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.""(Mark 9:22-25, NIV)

The gift of faith that comes in response to our humble entreaty creates a heart ready to radically obey. Let's just do it!

__________________

"Be of good courage",
God spake unto Joshua.
When o'er the river
God pointed the way;
Jordan uncrossable!
Things seemed impossible,
Waters divide
As they march and obey.

Battles to win!
They would meet
With their obstacles.
Jericho's walls too
Must fall to the ground;
God never failed
He stood back of His promises.
Walls had to crumble
As they marched around.

God is the same
And His Word is dependable.
He'll make a way
Thru the waters for you;
Life's situations
By Him are amendable.
Mountains and hills,
He will part for you too.

Got any rivers
You think are uncrossable?
Got any mountains
You can't tunnel through?
God specializes in
Things tho't impossible.
He does the things
Others cannot do.
Got Any Rivers
Eliason, Oscar C.
Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc. © 1945, 1973 Oscar C. Eliason.

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