Today’s reading: Joshua 5:13-15

As Joshua is preparing to take possession of the city of Jericho, he encounters a man who identifies himself as the commander of the Lord’s army. This man gives Joshua the same command God gave Moses at the burning bush (see Exodus 3)—to take off his sandals because the ground on which he is standing is holy. I can only imagine the encouragement these words provided, reaffirming to Joshua that he was God’s chosen leader, that God was with the Israelites, and that He would guide and protect them as they pressed into the Promised Land by taking action against Jericho.

This passage prompted me to think about how God has provided confirmation and encouragement to me many times in the past through people, circumstances, or a particular Bible passage He directed me to. One recent example from my life has to do with my new cookie business.

For quite a few years I have felt that God has been telling me to start my own business. That message has since focused and told me to start a baking business, cookies to more specific. But starting a business takes money, which I didn’t have a lot of. Nonetheless, almost two years ago now, I decided to take a step forward. I incorporated and got a business structure in place.

Then last spring I decided it was time to start baking part-time from my home. While I was excited about my new venture, I found myself struggling with feelings of uncertainty and doubt. My husband and I were fairly new to our community, so no one really knew about me or my business. One Sunday night as I went to bed, I poured my heart out (even more than normal) to God about this business—my fears, concerns, questions, you name it—and asked Him to please confirm if this desire was truly from Him or if I was mistaken and just pursuing something I wanted.

Less than twelve hours after that prayer, as I was working on writing for Powered by 4, my phone rang. It was the local newspaper calling to see if I would be amenable to them doing an article on my business, Crave Cookie Company. I was surprised—shocked, actually—but of course I agreed. As I hung up the phone, I started to cry, because I knew God had sent confirmation to me that, yes, Crave Cookie Company was a desire He had placed on my heart.

But the confirmation didn’t stop there. The following week a young lady came to the house to interview me and take pictures. I thought I was getting a mention in the daily newspaper, which was wonderful. But that didn’t happen. Instead, a few weeks later I discovered that the article was for a bimonthly magazine that is distributed to our entire county and that I had been featured in that magazine with a lengthy, multipage article with lots of full color photos. How awesome is that? When I saw the article, I cried—hard. God is so good and faithful, even when I am not. And not surprisingly, the timing of the article publication was perfect for when I needed another dose of confirmation.

What’s one example of when God provided confirmation to you in the past? How did He give you that confirmation? How did you respond? Tami

Source: Tami’s Blog