Thursdays with Joshua

Read Joshua 22:13-16 – Then the children of Israel sent Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest to the children of Reuben, to the children of Gad, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, and with him ten rulers, one ruler each from the chief house of every tribe of Israel; and each one was the head of the house of his father among the divisions of Israel. Then they came to the children of Reuben, to the children of Gad, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying, “Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord: ‘What treachery is this that you have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the Lord, in that you have built for yourselves an altar, that you might rebel this day against the Lord?’” (NKJV)

They say that perception is reality. But, in truth, what we think is going on isn’t always what’s happening, is it? Still, most of us get plenty of exercise jumping to conclusions. And when we’re wrong, sometimes the result can be catastrophic. That’s about to happen for the Israelites in this part of Joshua’s story. The eastern tribes have set up their own altar for reasons they have not yet explained to the western tribes. And so, in typical human fashion, the western tribes fill in the blanks themselves, assuming the eastern tribes are rebelling against them and against God. They even send a delegation fully armed with their accusations. Can you think of a recent moment when you jumped to an inaccurate conclusion? Often such moments are the product of fear or thinking the worst about others. When we assume their actions to be negative, we are revealing some type of insecurity in our own hearts. Why not take a different approach? Can we determine to believe the best about others, at least until we have real information to tell us otherwise? Such an effort will likely bring down your own stress level and help you maintain relationships more effectively than if you’re jumping to wrong conclusions.

– Dr. Mike Clarensau serves as Senior Director of the Healthy Church Network of the Assemblies of God.