Bible Studies
Lent 2006, part 2When Your Assignment Changes: Devotions for Fasting, March 13-17
Joshua 1:3-9
For more on Lent itself, see week 1
**Only healthy adults should participate in this Fast. If you are taking medication or are a nursing mother, please do not participate in abstaining from food. While fasting, you should take extra care with your health. Here are a few things to pay special attention to:
- Drink at least 64 oz of water each day
- Be sure to get plenty of rest - at least eight hours of sleep per night.
- Get some form of moderate exercise two-three times this week.
Monday Meditate on Joshua 1:3-6 (Read and repeat it several times throughout
the day)
“I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates – all the Hittite country – to the Great Sea on the west. No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.”
With the death of Moses, there came a change in assignment for Joshua. Joshua in his faithful service to Moses had witnessed the fickleness of the children of Israel, but he had also witnessed the power and majesty of God and he had been given a glimpse of the Promised Land. But God moved Joshua from the background to the foreground. God knew the assignment was great and He spent time encouraging Joshua.
- Is there an area where you are serving quietly and faithfully? How
may God be preparing you for your next assignment through your faithful service
in this area?
- In your personal time with God, how has God been encouraging you?
Tuesday Meditate on Joshua 1: 7 (Read and repeat it several times throughout the day)
“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.”
When you have more responsibility, it is easy to get caught up in the details, but God warns Joshua to be careful to obey and stay focused on what He has instructed him to do. This is God’s formula for success.
- Reflect on God's Word and His direct instructions to you. How obedient
have you been? Spend some time praying for help and guidance in walking in
obedience.
- What is your greatest distraction? The thing that makes you lose focus on seeking God's kingdom first. Pray and ask God to help you develop a strategy to overcome this distraction.
Wednesday Meditate on Joshua 1:8 (Read and repeat it several times throughout the day)
“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
God knows the power that words have and He is instructing Joshua to speak God's words and not his own. He instructed Joshua to keep thinking about and committing to memory all the things that God has spoken. By having his heart and mind filled with the Word of God, Joshua was equipped to be successful and prosperous in what God had assigned to his care.
- Words are powerful. What have you been saying about your current situation?
Your future? Does it match up with what God has said about you?
- Do
you read, study and meditate on the Word of God? If not, what has captured
your thought life? What do you spend your time thinking about?
- Think
about a current situation or decision that you are facing right now. Pray
about it. Then take it to the next level..... Find out what God says
about it in His Word (the Bible). God's answer in prayer is not going to be
different from what He has already said.
- Systems check – Make sure that you have the tools that you need to grow and hear from God. Find a Bible translation that you can understand. We are blessed to have many available. Invest in a Bible concordance that will quickly help you find Scriptures related to various topics. Keep a notebook or journal where you can record sermon notes, things that God is speaking to your heart, insights that God gives you in your study time and answered prayers.
Thursday Meditate on Joshua 1:9 (Read and repeat it several times throughout the day)
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua needed reminding that he was not acting on his own motivation or in his own strength, but that it was God that was commanding and instructing him to complete his assignment. From these facts Joshua could draw strength and courage he needed from God himself.
- Spend time in prayer asking God to give you courage and strength to
complete what He has assigned to your hand.
- Talk to your prayer partner
this week about what God has called you to do. Ask for their support in prayer
as you take courage and move out on
your assignment.
- God has given us each an assignment. All of our assignments
fit together to accomplish what God wants to do in the earth. How does the
assignment that
God has given you "fit" in with the assignments of others around
you?
- In completing your assignment, how can you support and encourage someone else in the completion of their assignment?
Friday Meditate on Jeremiah 1:9 (Read and repeat it several times throughout the day)
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
God saw the doubt and discouragement in Joshua's heart. He wanted to dispel these emotions from Joshua's heart and give him strength by promising to be with Joshua all the time.
- This is not a promise that God made only to Joshua, but He made it
to every one that believes Jesus to be Savior and Lord. How can you remind
yourself that God is with you all the time?
- If you remembered that
God is with you all the time, what would you change about your attitude or
how you act?
- Take some time in prayer and talk to God about the swell of emotions
that rise when you even think about doing what He has instructed you to do.
He is with you and His love is able to get rid of all fear.
- As you close this week, spend some time praying for others in your church family. Pray that we all would stand up and move out in completing what God has given us to do.
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