By Susan Yount
“Was Abraham a Christian?” My seven-year old daughter asked me this question one day not too long ago. To quote my pastor, this was a teachable moment. I am ashamed to say that I almost said yes because (I thought) I was too busy to have a long discussion with her. I did tell her no, that Abraham was not a Christian because Jesus had not yet died for his sins. I further explained to her that Abraham did hear God’s voice, and he did obey God’s voice and that God loved him and took care of him. He was a man of great faith. Our conversation then evolved to discussing how Jesus died on the cross for our sins and how grateful we are that He chose to do this.
This line of conversation caused me to think about some of the people of the Old Testament and one story in particular—the story of Joshua and the wall of Jericho.
Shortly after the Israelites entered Canaan (Josh. 3), the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, “See! I have given Jericho into your hand . . .” (Josh. 6:2). The Lord then explained how they would take Jericho. He gave Joshua very strict instructions on how to march, who should march, where people should be in the line, and how many times to march (Josh. 6:3-4). And, the Lord told Joshua exactly what was going to happen.
It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat (Josh. 6:5).
It goes without saying that the wall was massive in size. It had to be—that wall was the only thing protecting the city from intruders.
But the children of Israel, led by Joshua, obeyed the voice of the Lord. I believe this required great faith on their part, even though they knew the outcome.
Causing a wall to fall simply by marching around it and then shouting is impossible in the natural realm. Who would even try this on their own? In the spirit realm, this task is not impossible at all, for “…with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26b).
Recently, Father God has required a greater and deeper faith and trust in my life. As I have walked in this greater and deeper faith, I know that God is still God—no matter what circumstances I encounter or changes I must go through. My peace is in knowing that God is in control. He upholds all things by the word of His power.
Susan Yount is a Realtor with Keller 
So nice that you took the time to answer your daughter. I have to remind myself often to slow down and answer things instead of just hurrying through.
ReplyDeleteThese formative years are so precious and once gone................