Frontier Lands

Many years ago when our children were still quite young, my wife embarked upon a mission to read the entire Little House series of children’s books to our kids.  It was always interesting to me that while my wife has always possessed a love for books and reading, that you would very seldom find her sitting down reading on her own.  But she loved to read to her Homeschool students.  And she instilled this love into our kids at an early age.  She never forced them to read, but introduced each of them, at their own pace, to the many varied adventures, as well as the wisdom and knowledge found between the covers of a book.  All four of our children are now avid readers and most of them love to write as well.

I remember when I would join in on the family reading times and find myself caught up in the exciting tales that Laura Ingalls Wilder told as she reminisced about her family’s treks through the new mid-west territories and the establishing of new homesteads.  Pa’s thirst for the wide open places, with the accompanying challenges of taking the land always peeked my attention and captivated my thoughts.  It’s almost as if I was the one sitting on the bench of that covered wagon urging the yoked oxen through the ragging streams, over the narrow mountains trails and through the prairies ablaze with wheat that grew as tall as a man could stand.

I got the feeling, as I read from the first chapter of the book of Joshua this morning, that Joshua might just have been bursting with those same thoughts and emotions as the Lord outlined His plan for the taking of the land that He promised to give the people of Israel.  It is pretty clear to me that Joshua had to have possessed a pioneering spirit.  I can’t seem to find many (if any) times when he questioned or balked at the Lord’s plans for the taking of each city.  Yes, sometimes he moved out on his own and ran into to trouble, but he always seemed to relish the challenges that were ahead of him.

In Joshua 1:4 the Lord outlines the borders of the new lands for Joshua to dream about.  He said, “Your borders will be the desert on the south, nearby Lebanon to the Euphrates River (the country of the Hittites) on the north, and the Mediterranean Sea on the west.” (God’s Word ©)  One thing that caught my fancy was that, depending on the translation you read, the borders to the east are non-existent or a little bit hazy in their definition.  To me it was like the Lord was challenging Joshua (as well as us today) to keep adventuring on into new, and unchartered lands, taking them for the Lord. 

Have you ever felt that uncanny desire to go and do something different.  To boldly venture into a new place where you have never been before.  To experience the challenge of moving out of your comfort zone in order to embrace new lands, new people and simply experience more of what the Lord has planned for you?  To be honest, I think all of us possess an adventurous spirit deep inside.  After all, we were created in the image and likeness of God and He definitely has a spirit of adventure about Him.  Remember, He created you and me, didn’t He?  And He created all the beauty and far reaches of the world for us to enjoy didn’t He?

The Lord’s first words to Joshua were that “NOW (is the time that) you must cross (your) Jordan River into the land that I am going to give you.” (Joshua 1:2 God’s Word © personalized)  It is a move that you must take in order to walk in the fullness of His divine plan for your life…  and your obedience will most likely be a source of great blessings to others along the way, as you cross the frontiers of your life.  Have a great and adventurous day.  Stay in tune to His Word and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”