When I was a kid, my mom hid the fancy shampoo from me.
I didn’t realized it for some time, simply using the cheap bottle of Suave or Pert Plus that was always in the shower. I never knew there were other options, really. One day I was fishing around in the bathroom cabinet for my hidden bottle of Sun In and I stumbled upon something special.
Biolage. What’s that?
And it smelled like heaven.
Slowly the pieces of the puzzle came together. She is hiding this stuff from the rest of us!
And now, as a mom, I get it. Completely.
My oldest son often showers in our master bathroom. Somewhere along the lines, when the whole crew needed to shower and bathe at the same time, he claimed the master bathroom as his own. And since he’s the only little person who knows how to squeegee the glass surround to my liking (#thingsthisgirlsiscrazyabout), I’ve allowed it.
And this is where you get to know the frivolous side of me. I really like fancy shampoo. And conditioner. And goat’s milk soaps. It could be an inherited gene, but the way I see it, that 5 minute shower every day is my mini vacation and so I suffer the grocery budget just a tad to indulge. Don’t judge.
Anyhow, I think my 11 year old son may very well be drinking my shampoo or something because since he’s taken up residence in my shower the bottle of shampoo is ALWAYS almost empty. My mom was on to something. I may need to resort to hiding.
I digress.
So I was reading this week about Joshua. And I love this book of the Bible. Since fall I’ve spent my Sundays going through this very book with the cutest 7 and 8 year olds you’ve ever seen. And we learned about Joshua’s call to courage. We learned about his crazy brave faith and what bold obedience looks like.
But in Joshua chapter 10, things get crazy. His brave goes to a whole other level. Seriously. Joshua takes his army and marches all night long to defend his allies, the inhabitants of Gibeon. God speaks to Joshua on the way and tells him, don’t fear I got this covered and so Joshua charges forward and takes care of business.
But it’s getting late in the day and the enemy fled. So Joshua stops for a minute and talks to God.
…and he said in the sight of Israel (sidenote: notice Joshua is not hiding in his prayer tent or anything here, he’s calling this out in public)
“Sun, stand still over Gibeon: And Moon in the Valley of Aijalon.”…
So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. Joshua 10:12-13
Wow. Where does that kind of bold faith even come from? Not only asking the sun to stand still, but boldly, bravely, believing it’s actually possible in the first place. How did Joshua even get there?
Here’s the thing, when we read back in the preceding chapters of Joshua and even earlier in his life, we learn the kind of stuff Joshua’s faith was built on. He was mentored by Moses. He was called by God to take the reigns, and commanded to be strong and courageous leading the Israelites to conquer the Promised Land.
God grew Joshua’s faith, his boldness, his courage and his obedience through a series of battles and challenges (ie. the Jordan River, Jericho, Ai, etc.). Joshua didn’t start out as a young man, stopping the sun in the sky. His faith grew through his obedience, through first hand experience with God’s provision and faithfulness and through his hunger to continually and boldly believe and act upon what God has promised him.
God provided, but Joshua had to have the courage and hunger to go there. And to keep going.
I’m sure being mentored by Moses was pretty awesome. But what if Joshua would have become complacent there? I’m sure conquering Jericho was a major feat. But what if he would have retired? Joshua kept seeking, kept following and his faith grew into something crazy brave.
I have to wonder how many of us are content with a Pert Plus and Suave brand of faith, completely unaware of how much more is out there. It’s simple. It works well enough. Or does it? Maybe we haven’t ever seen something more, maybe we haven’t been mentored in it. But if we believe what the Bible says is true, then it’s out there, friends. We can grow that crazy brave kind of faith. Because He is a big and faithful God.
These things don’t happen overnight. They didn’t for Joshua, they won’t for us. But we can continually grow, constantly step, faithfully obey and He will be there in each step of our brave adventure.
No settling for Suave faith, friends. God has so much more for us.
Wow…..I needed to read this. Thank you!!!
So glad you came upon the words right when you need them, Joy. <3
What an amazing, inspirational post! I enjoyed reading it!
Thank you, Jehava!
I just love this post.. And your site! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much for stopping by, Prarie Gal! <3
Great post. I love the book of Joshua because of his courage. Love when I get to read a post from a blogger that truly gets deep into the Word!
I cherish that compliment. Thanks, Carmen!
Great analogy. For a minute there I thought, “How’d she go from shampoo to Joshua?” but you totally made it all make sense in the end. Love it!
I think my husband thinks that on most days. 🙂 Thanks for sticking with me, Nancy!
Love that illustration–and your challenge not to be content with a “good enough” faith!
Thank you, Leigh. Reading the Old Testament, as well as the New, I guess, always leaves me feeling we are leaving a lot on the table. 🙂
With each step of faith, our courage grows.
Yes, Katy. We’re simply responsible to keep trusting…and keep stepping!
This takes me back a few years to when God convicted me of my complacency in my parenting. Instead of growing braver and stronger from raising my first, I grew tired and weary…and complacent. It took a wake up call to call me back into battle. I cried and prayed for the years to slow down…for my period of influence to increase…time to make up for my mistakes…for the Sun to stand still. I told God I would do anything if He would just fight for me…fight for my kids. Our God is so faithful. He gave me a vision that day. He told me everything was going to be ok. I know that was a pivotal moment, not only in my parenting, but in my faith growing deeper with Him. I don’t want to settle for Suave. “I will fight for you. You need only to be still.”
I can’t tell you how much I love this, Herminia. What a beautiful picture of our role as moms. I never stop learning from you, Lady!
So after I posted the comment, I had to grab my notebook and write “Being still doesn’t mean you leave the battle.” Moses proclaimed to the Isrealites to be still in the very moment that Pharoah and his soldiers were after them. It was after that that God gave them their marching orders and parted the Red Sea.❤️
Can you imagine what it would have been like being mentored by MOSES? Joshua had a great mentor and God still told him “not to be afraid.” Bold faith doesn’t happen overnight. It happens over a lifetime, but aren’t we “worth it.” (I think that’s a Loreal commercial. LOL!)
No kidding! Although Moses had his real struggles as well and Joshua had a font row seat for the hard things of leadership. Even more than we are worth it, He is worth it. 😉
Katie, this is great!
I love being inspired by those who have walked the brave and bold steps of faith.
“His faith grew through his obedience, through first hand experience with God’s provision and faithfulness and through his hunger to continually and boldly believe and act upon what God has promised him.”
Thank you for inspiring us to look up and beyond ourselves.
Thank you, Diane! It’s helpful for me to understand that this was a process of growing building a brave faith. It lowers the expectation a bit when I’m not quite ready to call out for the sun to stand still. 😉 Thank you for your company here, Diane. <3
our faith in Him has to be big!
Indeed, Unfathomably BIG, Andrea.