Go and Do So
By Rev. Barry Settle, Contributing Writer
Joshua 5:15 says, “The commander of the army of the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy.’ And Joshua did so.” Dr. Howard-John Wesley, the pastor of Alfred Street Baptist Church said, “The real power of prayer is when you get to the end of the prayer and say ‘God use me.’” This reminds me that even though there are times when God makes things happen for us, I have often found it to be true that God will move in our favor when we work diligently in the area where we are praying for God to move.
God is ready to move. Racism in our society has taken off their masks and hoods and boldly shown the ugly truth right before our eyes. Political speeches that breed racism and hate and unarmed men of color being gunned down while white men who murder multiple people are arrested with no incident, threats of ICE raids and more have, unfortunately, become the new normal for us in 2019. We have prayed in the church and prayer closets for God to intervene and change what we are seeing daily in our society. I believe it is now time for us to extend our prayers and ask God to use us to implement the changes necessary for today’s world.
If you are like me, you might just pray and ask God to fix it rather than to actually participate in making our society better. However, if the body of Christ does not work toward making this change, I fear things will only get worse. God will be involved in the work we do to initiate change and stand up as a voice for the voiceless.
In the text, Joshua was preparing for the battle of Jericho. However, as he prepared for prayer, he encountered the commander of the army of the Lord. Joshua worshipped the Lord and asked, “What do you command your servant?”
Whatever plans Joshua had for battle were irrelevant at this point because he recognized who was really in control. God was and is in control. The Lord reminded Joshua that the place where he was standing was holy because the Lord was present. The sixth chapter explains the plan the Lord shared with Joshua proved to be victorious.
The body of Christ has work to do! We must organize and assist in motivating our members and community to vote at every election, realizing that every vote counts. Our unarmed young men need protection from corrupt systems in place that are not for them. We have lost enough unarmed young men only to have police officers declared “not guilty.” We need gun legislation that will keep assault weapons off the streets. There is no need for automatic weapons in the hands of any civilian. We cannot have another mass shooting at the movies, concerts, schools, or anywhere.
If we are a praying church, surely God is waiting for someone to ask, “What do you command of your servant?” If we have asked this question, I’m positive God has answered. Since God has and will answer this question, let us go and do what God has instructed.
