Home Base

Then the Lord said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you."

So the place has been called Gilgal to this day.

Joshua 5:9

It was good to see everyone last night! It was good to see new faces and familiar ones. It was good to revisit retreat and remember our crossings and thoughts of new land. Now we are ready to tackle the rest of the book of Joshua and head to victory.

Crossing over the Jordan River at flood stage was a major victory for Israel. After crossing, God wanted them to move inland and set up camp. Not stop at the place of first footfall. Not stay on the opposite shoreline ready to cross back over the river when the land or the people seemed especially fierce or scary. God wanted his people to be well inside their new land, fully committed to Him. So they did, and they were. They moved to Gilgal and set up camp, spreading out over a large plain just outside Jericho.

Gilgal was the place where God brought them full circle to have another try at taking the land, this time with God in the lead. Gilgal broke the old cycle of defeat and began a series of victories. Did you know Gilgal can be a place, a person, or both; a 'who' or a 'where'? Gilgal is our home base. I love to think about home base, whether house or heart. Home base is where we get our strength, a place where we are safe. It's the place we go from to live and fight battles and run missions, but come back to refresh and retreat and renew. To me it is open and free and wild and safe; God's spacious place. What is it to you?

He brought me out into a spacious place;

He rescued me because He delighted in me.

Psalm 18:19