A Warrior is Patiently Ready to use his Sword

As your steps grow closer to manifestation, changes in your spiritual maturity will emerge.

Joshua 5:8-15 (Amplified)

⁸ When they finished circumcising all the males of the nation, they remained in their places in the camp till they were healed.

⁹ And the Lord said to Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you. So the name of the place is called Gilgal [rolling] to this day.

¹⁰ And the Israelites encamped in Gilgal; and they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening in the plains of Jericho.

¹¹ And on that same day they ate the produce of the land: unleavened cakes and parched grain.

¹² And the manna ceased on the day after they ate of the produce of the land; and the Israelites had manna no more, but they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

¹³ When Joshua was by Jericho, he looked up, and behold, a Man stood near him with His drawn sword in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, Are you for us or for our adversaries?

¹⁴ And He said, No [neither], but as Prince of the Lord’s host have I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, What says my Lord to His servant?

¹⁵ And the Prince of the Lord’s host said to Joshua, Loose your shoes from off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy. And Joshua did so.

I have included these passages to show a significant set of changes to Joshua and to the Israelites. See that the nation was forced to stop and wait to heal (v8), and the encampment worshipped as was their custom (v10) prior to going to work - prior to reasserting themselves as Ready, Willing, and Able to work under His Eyes and by His Plan (v11). 

 

We know that they are on target with His Plan because the manna stopped falling (v12). It was to stretch the people and command that they Use their newly disciplined gifts! God called for the Children to show that they had grown and were ready for the next steps and the new manifestations! The people and their leaders had reached a new level of maturity. They had basked in His Presence and stopped crying to go back to the old ways - a new spiritual and physical generation was ready to move ahead. 

 

Look at verse 13 & 14 to see how far Joshua and the Israelites had come. Step 1, Joshua sees a man - a stranger no doubt, and approaches him. Joshua walks in the boldness that comes from following God and knowing that He will deliver you. Step 2, Joshua questions the stranger to see where his allegiance lies. Asking such a question also tells us that Joshua's own sword was drawn when he asked the question. After all, the stranger was armed (see v13 again), and men of the Old Testament were not likely to remain vulnerable when talking to a stranger in their midst. Step 3, Joshua Waited for his Answer. He had learned to engage the stranger instead of lashing out at him - he only acts in Response to Information, not to a hail of assumptions and feelings. By following these steps, Joshua was able to stand in the Presence of God and the hear from the Angel (v14-15).

 

Be loving, bold, faithful, prudent, humble, equipped, and patient - and You shall see God made manifest in your own life! If the manna has stopped in your life, you have NOT been abandoned - You are deemed READY to move to the Next Level. Be Excited, because a Manifestation Harvest season is officially upon you - its your Spiritual Graduation Day! 

 

Be Real and Be Ready,

 

Bryan