Prepared

Read: Joshua 3

Purify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do great wonders among you. Joshua 3:5

IN WORD

The people were about to cross the Jordan River, led by priests carrying the Ark of God. God had been in their midst before—the stories from the Exodus generation make that clear. Entry into the land would be one of those occasions when His presence was especially needed. But they needed to purify themselves for the encounter.

That was before the crossing, and the process would continue at the camp on the other side. Before the approach to Jericho, God instructed this generation of men to be circumcised as the previous generation had been (Joshua 5:2ff). He was setting them apart for His purposes, identifying them as a distinct group of people to be devoted exclusively to Him. They were about to enter a season of wonders.

Is purity necessary for victory? On the one hand, anything we receive from Him comes by grace through faith and not of our own doing. On the other hand, God is taking territory for His Kingdom, and He wants to fill it with those who will reflect Him well and who will not squander the victory selfishly. He doesn’t want His people to win territory and then turn it back over to the enemy through their own disobedience. So no, purity is not necessary to qualify for victory. But yes, purity is necessary to handle it. We are, after all, living with a God of wonders in our midst.

IN DEED

The message of grace is a beautiful and encouraging truth, but we can never let it become an excuse not to conform to the image of our God. And we can never expect grace to win our battles without our cooperation. Grace gives us not only the position of being accepted but also the power to be transformed. Only those who understand that will be able to experience Kingdom wonders consistently. God puts in places of victory those people who can handle it. And only those who are fully committed to Him—not perfect, but wholehearted—are ready.

ADDITIONAL READING: 1 Peter 1:13-16

Are we prepared for what sanctification will do? It will cost an intense narrowing of all our interests on earth and an immense broadening of our interest in God.

OSWALD CHAMBERS