Be Committed - The One Year Salt and Light Devotional
Be Committed
Joshua 5:13-15
Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy. (Joshua 5:15)
JOSHUA HAD A MYSTIFYING EXPERIENCE with a sword-bearing warrior. The two encountered each other in the plains near Jericho, and Joshua wanted to know if the warrior was for the Israelites or their adversaries. “Neither,” the man said. He had not come to take the side of human beings but to call human beings to his side as the commander of the Lord’s army. Joshua needed to make a decision between his agenda and God’s.
That was not a difficult decision for Joshua; he had committed himself to the Lord and sought him zealously for years. Even so, the choice needed to be made. God is the reference point for our battles, not the other way around. Will we look at his Kingdom through the lens of our own agendas or look at our agendas through the lens of his Kingdom? That momentous question goes a long way toward determining whether we fulfill our purpose in life.
In one sense, God is on your side. Scripture says so—Psalm 124:1-2 asks what would have happened if the Lord had not been on Israel’s side, and in Romans 8:31, Paul wonders who could possibly be against us if God is for us. But in an ultimate sense, the only way to move toward a life of fruitfulness is to realize that we are on God’s side—and that position is nonnegotiable. While many set their own agenda and try to call God into it, he has set his agenda and called us into it instead. That’s how the covenant works. He has lavished an extravagant inheritance on us, but we must step into it on his terms.
As you proceed, remember you are walking on holy ground. You have been set apart for his purposes, so wherever you step is with feet that belong to him and are ordained to take territory. The good news is that the commander of the Lord’s army goes before you in whatever battles you are called to fight. If you bow before him, as Joshua did, you are on the side that wins.
{Lord, spiritual battles abound—not against flesh and blood, but certainly against evil agendas and false ideas. I commit to your purposes in all of them. Other people may ask you to serve their goals; I ask only to serve yours. Go before me in strength, and I will follow. Amen.