“So she let them down by a rope through the window… said to them, “Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way.” … when they left, they went into the hills and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had searched all along the road and returned without finding them” Josh 2:15-22
Each time I read this scripture; I am alarmed at the word “Pursuers”! We were not told how many they were exactly in this passage but the fact was that they existed. What they existed for need not be told… they were out to stop the spies sent by Joshua. They were after the mission of those spies and by extension the mission of Joshua and the whole of Israel. They were bent on stopping them and stopping the two spies would have ripple effects on the progress of the Israelites. It was God’s counsel for them to take over the land of Jericho: a mission that had been ordained for them to accomplish but which could have been thwarted or hampered in a way, if the spies had been caught by the “pursuers”.
What is of particular concern to me is the mission of the “pursuers”: a mission to stop the people of God; a mission to frustrate their purpose and possibly thwart their destinies or outrightly kill them.
There are “pursuers” who will do anything and everything possible to stop you! Don’t take them for granted! Flee and hide yourself from their pathways. Don’t play along the pathway of the pursuers lest they catch up with you. Flee to the mountains; to the secret place of the Most High and abide there because it is those who dwell in the secret place of The Most High that abide under the Shadow of the Almighty. That is where the hands of the enemy cannot reach you; where the “pursuers” cannot find you.
The spies didn’t take the matter lightly; they obeyed the counsel of Rahab who knew what the possible mission of the “pursuers” could result in. They didn’t play along the way or try to prove they were brave! They didn’t toy with what they were supposed to flee from; they simply fled from the pursuers and went into hiding!
There are so many things that tend to draw our attention so much as to want to lure us away from that secret place of the Most High and we must take heed that no matter how legitimate those things are we must not allow ourselves out of that shelter so the “pursuers” don’t catch up with us. Don’t let work, friendship, studies, business, ministry activities or issues of life draw you away from the mountains where you should dwell. Don’t let those blind you to the fact that there are “pursuers” who aim after your destiny, your success, your flourishing; progress, health, wellbeing, family, finances, ministry and your relationship with the Lord. Ensure to maintain a fellowship with the Lord even as you carry out your life assignment; ensure you don’t wander away from the hiding place that is Christ Jesus, so the “pursuers” don’t catch up with you.
I pray that as we pursue life and ministry, seeking to fulfil purpose, may the “pursuers” (The enemy of our destinies) not catch up with us. May whatever seeks to stop us from reaching our goals in Christ be frustrated and destroyed. May we continually escape from the “pursuers” until we fulfil purpose and destiny. Amen!
© Funmi Adebayo
#funmiadebayojournals
