One thing about an extended stay away from home is the need to reprogram your brain. Nothing comes naturally and as much as you may enjoy the new environment and the people living there, adjusting doesn’t always come easy. The first six weeks of 2013 I lived with my 93-year-old aunt in southern California. We hit it off great—I learned more about my family than I ever thought possible and she got the grand tour of the radiation clinic where I was a patient. I introduced her to television programs she didn’t know existed and I heard phrases that I didn’t know existed, phrases like, “Well, I’ll be switched!” Between her age and my treatments, we complemented each other well. If we were too tired for plans we’d made, we just smiled and said “not today.” We took a trip out of town once and promptly got lost because nothing looked familiar. Her directions got a bit fuzzy and we just smiled and said, “well, I’ll be switched!”
I’ve often wondered how the people of Israel managed—a generation growing up in the desert and suddenly finding themselves poised to enter the Promised Land. These desert nomads were now tasked with claiming the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. As full of excitement as they may have been, there needed to be some major reprogramming going on. And God knew just how to do it.
First He gave them their own Red Sea experience as they crossed the Jordon River. When the priests stepped into the overflowing river, the waters separated, allowing the people to walk across on dry land, an experience their parents had had 40 years earlier leaving Egypt. New territory, same God. And if that wasn’t enough, He had them build a stone monument for the next generation to remind them of this great miracle (Joshua 4:22). Wherever you are going and whatever you are doing, when you see this memorial, remember who I am and what I did for you. They were programmed never to forget.
While the nations west of the Jordan River “had their courage melt away and were paralyzed with fear” because of this miraculous demonstration of power, God told Joshua to set aside a special day to reinstate his covenant with the people through the rite of circumcision. More than just good timing, God wanted them to remember who He was and what they meant to Him—you are my special people and I am your God.
Joshua 5:11-12 tells us that once in Canaan, the manna ceased, and was never seen again—another major adjustment. In a land flowing with milk and honey, gathering food and learning to enjoy the taste of something they had never had before might just have elicited the Hebrew equivalent of “Well, I’ll be switched.” To complete the reprogramming of His chosen people and their new leader, God used phrases like “be strong and brave” and “banish fear and doubt!” and words like bold, courageous and strength. God was in the process of reprogramming the mind of an entire nation.
Do you find yourself in a new situation? You may not be away on an extended stay like I was, but just going through new and unfamiliar territory, in a place you’ve never been before. It may take some reprogramming to get through, but just remember that God is still the same; He will work today as He did in the past, and as a believer, you are His special chosen one. Take heart. Don’t let yourself be switched.