But there was a little more to it than just getting on
the bus, as Joshua and the Children of Israel would find out.
Moving into Canaan was going to take more effort than
some were ready to exert. It would take
more resolve than resources. It was
going to take trust, time and tenacity. For those who would hang on untill the
mission was accomplished the promises were real but the process was going to be
a real learning experience. Because God
was more concerned with how they would progress then what they would
possess. So He provided lessons every
step of the way.
I had an instructor who taught like that many years
ago. I don’t know what became of
her. She may be dead now. But this lady had a passion for teaching. She was a registered nurse and a paramedic
(RN/EMT-P). Educated, skilled and
drenched with a desire to pass on what she knew about saving lives and
relieving the suffering of her fellow man.
Not only was she my EMT instructor but she was also the
Chief Medical Officer on my first emergency medical unit. This fact provided me with hours of hands-on
instruction which I am convinced made me into a much better paramedic than I
could have ever been otherwise.
Her instructions went something like this: We would be studying the different sounds of
the respiratory system, the signs of a patient with various breathing
maladies. She would go over the
information from the text but the next emergency call we would make, she would
take my stethoscope, grab my hand and place it on the patient’s chest. “Listen
to this” she would say. “Remember this sound. This is what rales sound like. Every time you hear it remember what it
means”.
Or perhaps we would be treating a patient who was in
shock; she would say “Do you remember the
signs and symptoms of shock”? See the
pale, clammy skin? Notice the rapid and
shallow breathing. Did you pick up on the
weak and rapid pulse? This is what shock looks like.”
She taught the facts as well as the “feelings” of
emergency medicine. This is what God did
as He led the Children of Israel into Canaan.
“Yes, you crossed
the Jordan, but I want you to learn this”.
“Yes, you took this
city but this is what I want you to know”.
“Yes, there are
victories and defeats but this is why”.
So in my next few writings, I want to share a few of
those lessons with you. I don’t think I
will live long enough, on this side of “my Jordan” to relate them all, but let’s
look at a few of them together. Because
I am convinced that God is more concerned with making you more righteous than
rich and more Holy than happy. I believe
He wants you to have more of His heart than his handouts.
So strap on your “Sinai sneakers” and let’s take a
journey with these pilgrims of promise and along the way see if we can learn a
few lessons from the Lord.
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