Big Projects: Garage update

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9 NIV)

After six months of waiting and wishing to do it, this past Saturday I finally had a block of time and enough energy to do a deep cleaning of the garage. Our garage had become a final resting place for papers, books, toys and other things that were no longer wanted in the house. My job was to sort out the salvageable and get rid of the rest. I worked diligently more than six hours and now have a car full of stuff to donate to the thrift store, three giant garbage bags of trash, and a MUCH more organized (and even cleaner!) space. Yes, I will be able to put my van in the garage when the winter weather begins and this makes me glad.

You may have a similar project that is waiting for your focus or that you’ve recently accomplished. The finishing of a Big Project is a wonderful accomplishment. When God calls us to do Big Things, he is with us in the process, just he was with Joshua in the Old Testament. Joshua would have remembered life as a slave in Egypt. He would have remembered the Plagues and the flight across the desert to outrun Pharoah’s army, the opening of the Red Sea and the subsequent drowning of the army. After this dramatic rescue, he was then chosen to be a “spy” to scout the Promised Land. Unfortunately, he was one of only two whose report urged the Israelites to fight for their Promised Land; the other ten spies were overwhelmed and afraid of the fight. So, he and the rest of the Israelites wandered around the wilderness for forty prime years of Joshua’s life until the disobedient generation had died off and the people were ready to trust and obey God. I’m sure he wished that the entire family of the Israelite nation would have chosen God’s way the first time. I have wondered what Joshua must have thought when the Israelites finally – FINALLY – crossed the Jordan River into their Promised Land.

The entire book of Joshua in our Bible is the story of the Big Project he had to achieve – to conquer the pagan peoples living within the Israelites’ Promised Land. By the time he died at age 110, “the Lord had given Israel rest from all their enemies around them.” (Joshua 23:1 NLT) When we accomplish any Big Project – raising children, completing a college degree, writing a book, building a house, finishing a piece of art, developing and organizing an event, winning a championship trophy, or a host of other things – there is a sense of relief. When our Big Project is lined up with God’s will and direction for us, we know God’s goodness, faithfulness, and provision throughout the process.

In the grand scheme of things cleaning a garage is a rather small Big Project. But I am grateful God provided the time, energy, help, and strength to do it. It’s not nearly as important as Joshua’s role in leading the Israelite people, but every Big Project we achieve teaches us that, with God’s help, we can do Big Things for Christ’s Kingdom. So, whatever the Big Project is that God has on your plate, move forward with courage and determination. The Lord your God is with you.

God,

Thank you for the Big Projects and challenges you give us in life. Thank you for your call to go and make disciples and teach them all you have taught us. Thank you for your call to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with you. Thank you for direction, energy, strength, and wisdom you provide when we step out in faith to go where you call us to go. Thank you for giants of the faith like Joshua that show us faithfulness, godliness, perseverance, patience, and leadership. Give us spiritual eyes and ears to know where you are calling us and courage to do what you need us to do to further your Kingdom. We ask this in Jesus’s name, Amen.

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8 NIV)

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'” (Matthew 28:18-20 NIV)

“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:6-9 NIV)

“Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.” (Joshua 23:14 NIV)

“But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Joshua 22:5 NIV)