BROAD PLACE OF THANKS GIVING – DAVID
2 Samuel 22:20”He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me.”
After traversing caves, wilderness, barrenness, loneliness, weariness, emptiness and nothingness; finally God brought David to a broad place! On the day when the LORD delivered David from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul, David sang, "The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer..” (2 Samuel 22:1, 2) We got to traverse the rough terrains before we enter the broad place prepared for us!
If we had not been through persecutions and pain, we would never appreciate peace in our life! We would take our blessings for granted, David was able to gratefully thank God for the peace and joy in his life. David said: The Lord is my rock! Amen. He never sang, ‘my job is my rock!’ If you work on Sundays and forget the church, then you would never be able to enjoy the peace that you get from His presence. David just goes crazy as he passionately sings: ‘my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence.’ (2 Samuel 22;3)
2 Samuel 7:1”Now when the king lived in his house and the LORD had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies..” Here, in this scripture, we read that David is now basking in his palace that he built for himself; however, he has not forgotten his God even after coming to a broad place. His heart always yearned for his God, he said, ‘but the ark of God dwells in a tent!’
Friend, God gives us peace, happiness and brings us to a broad place, so that from there we do His work in peace and more effectively. Are you listening? Look what the Lord said to David: “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel.” (2 Sam 7:8)
When God gives you a broad place, be ready for a broad and big project! I would also like to add here, He also gives you an enlarged heart to use the broad place for His Kingdom. Amen. As soon as we relocated to Hyderabad, God gave us a big van and we kept wondering why do we need such a big van for a family of four; however, God had other plans! Shortly, the next year, we started our Abide School and Abide Angel Home for the under-privileged children and now our van is being used much for His Kingdom. We chauffeur children to Sunday class, drop them in the evenings at times, bring heavy loads of wood for cooking, provisions, vegetables and much more.
BROAD PLACE OF EXALTATION: JOSHUA:
The LORD said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.”(Joshua 3:7)
When ‘exalting’ comes from God, mark it, it would not be sparse – but profuse! The Lord looks at Joshua and tells him that He is going to bring him to a broad and spacious place! Amen. Nevertheless, it took several years of waiting, obscurity and patience before Joshua finally got recognition as the leader of Israel. Joshua did not blow the trumpet himself and call himself a great leader – God brought about that in His own way. Observe, in His Own way! In the year 1949, in the city of Los Angeles, Rev. Billy Graham was called to hold meetings, the meetings began slowly with little press coverage and relatively low attendance. Empty seats were easily seen in the early nights in the Canvas Cathedral, a tent erected specifically for the crusade. Randolph Hearst, owner of newspapers across the country including two major ones in Los Angeles, inexplicably told his papers to "puff Graham." They did, and when Hearst's papers "puffed Graham," of course Hearst's competitors papers followed suit. Soon the Los Angeles campaign was being talked about and read about nationwide. The crusade was extended from its original intended length of three weeks to a length of eight weeks, at which point the tent was still being packed – Rev. Billy Graham became internationally famous. God brought Rev. Billy Graham to a broad place of success in order to minister to His people!
Coming back to Joshua, after the death of Moses, it was an eerie period of uncertainty and gloom for Joshua because the people mourned the death of Moses for 30 days, Joshua had seen the great miracles done by Moses and his personal relationship with God as God himself said, that He spoke with Moses face to face.(Deuteronomy 34:10) The expectations were high on Joshua! Most important, the people of Israel had still not stepped into the promised land, Canaan. Joshua the Commander-in-chief now had to take the people to Canaan after slaying the giants and the hindering walls. God knew the angst and worry inside the heart of Joshua, He aptly told Joshua: “Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.” (Joshua 1:6)
Let’s look at the characteristics of Joshua, during this phase of his life as he faces a colossal and gigantic project:
a) Heart in the Word and not the world: One predominant decision that Joshua took was to stick to the Word of God as instructed by God Himself and never to deviate from it. Is anybody listening? God told Joshua:”This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8)Hurray! That’s the perfect recipe for success!
b) Consecration: After consecration and purification comes promotion and exaltation! Joshua told his people “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.” (Joshua 3:5) Friend, purge the sins from your life! I repeat purge. Deal with it fiercely and aggressively, if not, you would be swallowed by the devil. If you have to destroy certain documents, do it immediately, if you have to delete some stuff, don’t procrastinate – do it right away. If you have to say ‘no’ to certain things, do it with determination. The Bible warns us, “Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” (2 Timothy 2:22) When Jesus walked into my heart, I destroyed every bit of secular movie ACDs and VCDs, destroyed all worldly magazines and I went about wildly cleansing my life. My family were stunned! I just closed doors immediately to every bit of secular TV programs and a lot of other stuff. It may sound crazy to you but it was necessary for me to stand holy while I was bombarded on all sides with noise and chaos. Apostle Paul said: “…beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. (2 Corinthians 7:1) Call me religious fanatic if you will, but it is worth it because I am enjoying His sweet presence even after 15 years. My children and school kids still find me crazily in love with God! I repeat you will never succeed if you don’t purge out sins 100 %. Movies today are nothing but soft porn camouflaged into a story filled with adultery and lust. Caveat! Stay away! Joshua was able to go in and out through many cities, filled with pretty women of various culture but none ‘attacked or attracted him’ because he was sold out for God! Are you listening?
c) Unshakeable faith: God told him “Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua trusted God and followed Him. Now look at the strategy of crossing Jordon – it is beyond human reasoning! That is God! The world would tackle family disputes and quarrel through may be visiting police stations or court, but God would change the circumstances with just one sitting at His feet! Anybody listening? Are you ready? The strategy is this: “
Joshua 3:13“when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap."
Joshua just obeyed God thoroughly! The people were awed when they saw the water roll back! God exalted Joshua in front of the huge people!
Conclusion: Obedience and adherence to the voice of God would quicken the miracle in your life; whereas, if you rebel and defy God and His Word, then alas, you stagnate! Friend, when we faithfully obey God immediately, no matter what the situation may be, loss or pain – be sure, God would reward you! Before we launch into the book of Joshua, we have a few words about Joshua, read Deuteronomy 34:9:
• Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for
• Moses had laid his hands on him.
• So the people of Israel obeyed him
• he did as the LORD had commanded Moses.
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The above qualities of Joshua catapulted him to success and brought him to a broad place! Give God a mighty hand of praise!
