From Calvary Chapel of Roswell

Pastor Jim Suttle

Msg #518                       Wednesday, August 6, 2008

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“When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God…

then you shall set out from your place and go after it.

Yet there shall be a space between you and it,

about two thousand cubits by measure.

Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go,

for you have not passed this way before.” (Jos 3:3-4)

Life is full of new adventures.  In one sense, today itself is a new adventure.  This is a new day in your life – you have never been here before.  Things you will do and face – are new and fresh.  Sometimes we get caught thinking life is monotonous and just the “same old thing” – but Biblically and truthfully – that is not true.  Today is a new day – you have never been here before!

On top of that – God is continually brining new things in our lives.  New opportunities and new responsibilities.

In light of this reality – it is wise to consider God’s counsel here in Joshua.  For them it was a new day – there were entering territory that had long been promised…but they had never been there before.  It was exciting, it was new…and even scary.  Therefore,  God gave them this interesting command – to leave room for the Ark.  The Ark in those days, was a symbol of God’s presence.  Thus – they were to make sure to leave “God Room” in their lives and their journey.  That is the challenge I have for you -  to have “God Room” in your life.

God Room is a Declaration that we don’t want anything God is not in. 

“When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God…

then you shall set out from your place and go after it.

For those in Joshua’s time – they did not move until they saw that God was moving.  They did not want to do anything or go anywhere that God was not going with them and leading them into.  That is good counsel. 

God Room is a Process not a Plan.  God does not give us a map of what is to come in and for our lives.  He does not tell us what next week, month or year holds.  Instead, He just calls us to follow Him daily.  The problem is that most of us WANT to know the future, what God has for us – we like “maps” and “plans” – but God constantly tells us not to be concerned about that – but to be concerned with following Him daily.  God’s guidance in our lives is not a future plan…but a present following.

God Room is a Sensitivity to Lord.  By leaving open space for God, Joshua and the troops would be able to see what God was doing and follow Him.  The danger is crowding God out of our lives.   We need to have a continual attitude of looking to the Lord for guidance – throughout our day.

God Room is an Readiness to follow the Lord.  The call was to “see” and “go after” God’s presence.   To leave God Room in our lives, means that we are ready and willing to follow Him today in anything He has for us.

God Room is God’s means of guiding us.  It is how we will “know the way by which you must go” in our lives.  This is so needed…because we are in new territory – we have never been this way before.    

So I call you to leave God Room in your life today – so that you will know what to do TODAY for you have not passed this way before.

Jim

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