“Joshua said to the people of Israel, ‘How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them out that they may set out and go up and down the land. They shall write a description of it with a view to their inheritances, and then come to me. They shall divide it into seven portions. Judah shall continue in his territory on the south, and Joseph shall continue in their territory on the north. And you shall describe the land in seven divisions and bring the description here to me…’
“So the men arose and went, and Joshua charged those who went to write the description of the land, saying, ‘Go up and down in the land and write a description and return to me…’ And there Joshua apportioned the land to the people of Israel, to each his portion.” Joshua 18:3-6,8-10
Joshua inspired with keen strategy. Get prepared, then scope out what the Lord has given. Know it, describe it… and you will want to do what it takes to make it your own.
The Lord God has given to us in Christ all things. Our inheritance is guaranteed, and Christ in us is our hope of that glory. Yet we often fail to take advantage of the riches we own. We get complacent, settle in the lowlands, and pretend to be content when actually our hearts yearn for more. Whether we live in luxury or want, it is the soul that is unsatisfied when we neglect to make the effort to procure our spiritual treasure. (Romans 8:32; Ephesians 1:14; Colossians 1:27; 1 Peter 1:3-5)
The land of rich plenty with the Lord awaits the seeker and sojourner. He bids us come, discover its breadth and depth, its rivers and bounty. What keeps our wheels sluggish? Are we too enamored with and entangled in this world? When will we get up out of spiritual sloth and seize God’s grace, joy, strength of will, self-control, power to love and forgive, and boldness for the gospel? His pledge stands for the taking!
What keeps us procrastinating in strict obedience, or the putting off of habits dishonoring to the Lord, or the commitment to regular worship and meaningful fellowship? Are we dragging our feet in service to others, or self-sacrifice, or generosity with resources? What are we waiting for to take full possession of His promises?
“Come, we that love the Lord,
and let our joys be known;
join in a song with sweet accord,
and thus surround the throne.
Let those refuse to sing
who never knew our God;
but children of the heav’nly King
may speak their joys abroad.
The hill of Zion yields
a thousand sacred sweets
before we reach the heav’nly fields,
or walk the golden streets.
Then let our songs abound,
and every tear be dry;
we’re marching through Emmanuel’s ground
to fairer worlds on high.
We’re marching to Zion,
Beautiful, beautiful Zion;
We’re marching upward to Zion,
The beautiful city of God.” ~Isaac Watts (1707), Robert Lowry (1867)
Father, keep me pursuing You and abiding in Your good land so I can share its bounty with those around me, to Your praise.
As the rain and snow 