Spiritual Scrapbooking Challenge 1

Spiritual Scrapbooking
Be Strong and Courageous
Class: Thursday November 9th
7:30 pm

If you would like to join us for the discussion of this study, please call or email me for information.

Please read the first chapter of Joshua.

As you read consider and answer these questions:

Author V. Raymond Edman writes, “The giants may represent spiritual and psychological foes that face us when we would follow God;”

1. What are your specific “giants”? (As described above.)
   
2. Are there areas of your life that you are being defeated, where you’re not “standing your ground”? What is God’s promise from Joshua 1:5 for us when we’re faced with “giants”?
   
3. Where does the path to spiritual victory begin for you?
   
4. Under what circumstances do you find your resolve fading and the exhortation to “Be strong and courageous” difficult or seemingly impossible to grasp?

When I led Early Childhood ministries there were many occasions when people would come with suggestions or, sometimes, outright demands as to what should be done or how things should be accomplished. Leadership is never an easy path to walk, but through prayer and the gifts of discernment and wise councilors I knew I could make decisions that would cause the ministry to bring God glory above all else. Another aspect of that process, that was indispensable, was knowing what God had called me to do. As decisions or opportunities arose, in prayer I could hold them up to the light of what God had asked me to accomplish and if it didn’t hold to His plan then it was easy to move on.

I strongly believe that you need to know what God has called you to do at any season in your life to be able to make decisions that will bring you success through His eyes. I know that at this stage in my walk my calling is to be a godly wife to Dustin; an example of holiness and dedication to Christ for my children, teaching them about who He is through our everyday experiences; and to be the guardian and protector of my activities for the benefit of my health and physical healing and well-being. If I try to make decisions now based on my calling from my season as a church leader I wreak havoc on my life. Yet if I didn’t know what I was called to right now I would fall into confusion and possibly condemnation or depression as I tried to live my life based on what everyone BUT Christ was calling me to do. It would be easy to get sucked into everyone else’s agenda and do permanent damage to my relationships and health totally aside from the fact that I would have no litmus test to determine if God was being glorified in my life.

Maybe it’s just the way I’m wired, but I need that affirmation that I’m doing what I should be doing. (And receiving it only from the world is so unsatisfying.) All of this leads me back to being defeated by my “giants.” When I’m faced with those things that prevent me from following God’s way I need only to look at what He’s calling me to. Do my activities show respect and honor to my husband? Does my husband trust me or am I being contetious and exasperating to him? Are my children taken care of, basic needs met? Do they feel secure and loved and affirmed? Are they learning about and calling attention to the presence of God in our lives? Am I filling my calendar with too many things? Am I taking my medications and keeping my doctors appointments? Am I resting before I fall into exhaustion?

God is calling me to very specific things right now and when I hold onto His ways I find my courage and strength bolstered daily. For me it is daring to stay on this path. This season of rest and quietness with a lack of extensive activity is so hard for me. I am so tempted to want things outside of this plan. My brain screams, “Just go back to work!” Like that will solve more problems than simple obedience would. This is the hardest time of my life and I seem daily to need the exhortation to be strong and courageous to stay on this path. Edman writes further, “While caution considers and deliberation delays, daring obeys the explicit command of the Lord. The fearful and faint-hearted do not know the quickening of pulse and the confidence in a Presence that comes with the obedience of venturing to put one’s feet into overflowing impossibility; and to find a way where there seems to be none.”

The impossibilities I see in my way are, well, seemingly impossible to overcome. I guess that’s where I find the blessing of obedience: when I do what God is calling me to no matter how impossible a favorable outcome seems. In trusting Him I am rewarded with confidence and He will make a way just as He promised Joshua, “No one will be able to stand their ground against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.” (Joshua 1:5)

1. What explicit command has God given you that you are being cautious about or deliberating to death? What would, could or might happen if you just jumped in with both feet to what God has asked you to do?
   
2. Be daring today: ask God to give you one small thing that you can try out; something that is daring for Him, something that means putting your feet into “overflowing impossibility,” asking Him to show you a way where there is none.

Scrap Challenge:

On the day you ask God for your small challenge keep your camera close at hand and shoot photos as you feel led. Create a page centered on the challenge God gave you for that day, using the photo(s) you took.

Bible references from the New Living Translation; unless otherwise noted
Quotes from The Disciplines of Life by V. Raymond Edman