The other evening, I was driving home with just my teenager in the car, and we barely avoided being t-boned by someone pulling out of a neighborhood who apparently didn’t notice the red octagonal sign with the reflective word STOP in all caps. Thankfully, I was able to swerve out of the way in the nick of time. In the interest of transparency, I will admit that the first words that popped into my head were not, “Jesus, take the wheel.”

We drove in silence for a bit as we collected our breath, and then he gestured heavenward said, “Well, at least we know where we’re going.” His comment gave me pause. Granted, we were both wearing our seatbelts, and the oncoming car wasn’t going so fast as to likely cause a serious accident, but it was a humbling reminder that we aren’t promised tomorrow (James 4:13-15).

I have always loathed that sing-song children’s prayer that said, “If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.” What a terrifying thought for a kid! Night, night – hope you don’t die! I’m glad my parents didn’t use that as a bedtime prayer, but still – I needed reassurance that it was going to be ok. The turning point in my relationship with God came when I understood his role as my savior. When your faith is in Christ, fear has no place to reside. I don’t believe that we drift into some bleak oblivion of nothingness when we die; I believe in the hope of eternal life with God through faith in Jesus. To me, that amazing hope is powerful enough to overshadow the fear of dying.

The story in Judges 6-8 tells us about another person who needed reassurance: Gideon. Similar to Moses’ reaction generations prior, Gideon doubted God’s call on his life. He requested sign after sign before he would be convinced that God was directing him and that everything was going to be ok. He eventually obeyed, but he needed his hand held the whole time. I do believe that God gives us signs about his desire for our lives, but like the driver blowing past the stop sign the other day, sometimes we simply choose not to see what’s right in front of our eyes. Sometimes we’re so busy looking for the sign we want to see (like a green light, perhaps?) that we fail to recognize other important signs like Yield, Detour, or Stop.

If you could pick a new name (like Joshua, “God-saves”), how might you describe how the Lord has moved in your life? God-(fill in the blank)

Think back to a “God-saves” moment in your own life. Praise him today for being our rescue, our deliverance, our salvation. Amen!

If someone were to write your personal backstory one day, what situations and choices would show God at work in your life?

Not all of us were fortunate enough to grow up in church, but don’t let that keep you from believing that God can use you in his work!

When you face life’s obstacles, do the obvious challenges discourage you from seeing the potential for God to act? Pray for courage.

What does Joshua’s name (“God-saves”) mean to you? Do you believe God actively cares about your life, or do you chalk things up to fate?

Think about some Bible lessons you learned way-back-when as a kid (or even recently) that could help you deal with the unexpected today.

Joshua has an interesting backstory that I think sheds some light on why he was selected to fill Moses’ shoes after his death. Numbers 11:28 tells us that Joshua was Moses’ helper since youth; in fact, Exodus 24:13 indicates that Joshua was even by Moses’ side when he went up the mountain to obtain the Ten Commandments. In his role as Moses’ aide, Joshua had several personal encounters with the Lord and witnessed his miracles first-hand.

Is it any wonder, then, that Moses selected Joshua as one of the 12 scouts that he sent into Canaan to scope out the new territory? Interestingly, up until the Canaan adventure, Joshua’s name was actually Hoshea. The Message paraphrase explains it this way in Numbers 13:16b: “Moses gave Hoshea (Salvation) son of Nun a new name—Joshua (God-Saves).” I’m not a linguist, but I think there is a fascinating distinction in how those two names are translated. Salvation is a noun, and it sounds fairly abstract—it’s a term that means deliverance. “God-Saves,” on the other hand, sounds very active—it indicates that God himself is doing the rescuing. And, as we already saw in Joshua’s backstory, he was no stranger to seeing God at work!

Unlike 10 of the other spies who spied on Canaan, Joshua (and his buddy Caleb) saw the potential for God to act. The 10 cowards just saw challenges and made excuses for why they should not go into Canaan. Joshua lived out his new name and played a critical role in God saving the Israelites, time and time again. Eventually, God selected him as the succession plan for Moses.

Moses gets a lot of accolades for parting the Red Sea, but did you know that the Lord helped Joshua do the same thing at the Jordan River? Joshua 3:7 (MSG) tells us: “God said to Joshua, “This very day I will begin to make you great in the eyes of all Israel. They’ll see for themselves that I’m with you in the same way that I was with Moses.” Joshua wasn’t an excuse-maker; he was a God-follower. He put his faith into action and did not sit by passively just because the world said it was too hard. He kept a close relationship with the Lord, and he accomplished great things for God’s kingdom.

When you read wild & crazy tales about Noah, Jonah, & Jesus’ disciples, are they just legends to you, or the handiwork of our eternal Lord?