Wherever

Read: Joshua 1:1-9

Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you. Joshua 1:3

IN WORD

When God gives a promise, He gives us everything we need to have it fulfilled in our lives. He rarely fulfills it unilaterally; there’s usually something for us to do, even if that’s only a simple response of faith. In the case of Israel’s entry into the Promised Land, God designated a territory and told them to take it. “Wherever you set foot,” He explained to Joshua, “you will be on land I have given you.” He would give it; they would have to walk in it. That was the deal.

That’s a great picture of our Kingdom. In fact, much of the book of Joshua is a field manual in how to take territory for God’s Kingdom according to His promises. He sets the adventure in front of us, and then we respond in faith by actually going into it. There are conditions and parameters—Joshua will receive instructions about how to conquer and whom to avoid. And though every bit of it probably felt like work to Israel, it was really God’s doing. Just like we live our lives in Him.

Many people don’t understand that. They believe that God’s grace implies that we do absolutely nothing but sit down and wait for God to accomplish His purposes through us. We receive salvation by grace through faith, and then assume the rest of life is entirely independent of our actions. It isn’t. God is calling us into works that He has prepared for us. He has promised territory that is there for the taking. He is waiting for us to enter an arena of fruitfulness that we can’t enter simply by waiting for Him to act. We step in; He gives. That’s how it works.

IN DEED

Never let faith be an excuse for inactivity. Joshua and the nation of Israel actually had to walk fearlessly, follow God’s strategies, and fight battles in order to receive what He had promised to freely give. We do too. That doesn’t mean we receive salvation by works. It means we experience His Kingdom by participating in it. He has promised to reward every step of faith.

ADDITIONAL READING: Ephesians 2:8-10

I sometimes think that the whole secret of the Christian life is to know how to use the word “therefore.”

MARTYN LLOYD-JONES