March 24 - Joshua 1:11

"Pass through the camp, and command the people:

'Prepare your provisions; for in three days you are

to cross over the Jordan, to go in to take possession

of the land that the Lord your God gives you to possess.'"

Joshua 1:11

 

Most people's favorite verse in Joshua is 1:9 -- "Be strong and courageous ... for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Amen!

 

But I have another favorite ...

 

At the end of glorious, moving, spiritual retreats, someone will inevitably say, "It's time to go back to the real world." They mean that after a weekend of praise, thanksgiving, healing, and grace, that it's time to go back to the world that's full of real brokeness, real pain, and real imperfections.

 

But I tell them, that's not the real world! That's the world broken by sin. God's intent what just what you saw on this retreat: praise, thanksgiving, healing, grace, new friendships, renewed faith. That's the real world!!!

 

And then I point to Joshua 1:11 with a sense of purpose and conviction, saying, "You've seen what God intended. Now, 'go [and] take possession of the land that God has given you to possess.' Conquer the sin and imperfections. Let light shine on the darkness. Let truth deflate the world's lies. 'Go [and] take possession of the land that God has given you to possess!"

 

In Christ's Love,

one who is more than a conquerer

through him who loves us

Rom 8:37