Possessing the Promise

Good Morning Gorgeous,
It’s a brand new day. A fresh new start. The Lord will faithfully cause the sun to rise again. He can be counted on time and time again. He will fulfill His plans and promises for you. He will carry out the good work He started in you. He will be faithful to do what He promised to do in your heart and in your life.

I am now in the book of Deuteronomy, and the Lord has brought His people, the Isrealites, through the desert after 40 years of their wandering and disobedience right to the edge of their promised land. He brought them there once before when they had only been traveling more than a year, but they didn’t trust the Lord enough to go in. They stood at the edge and doubted the goodness of the Lord. They sent 12 scouts to go check it out and when they returned 10 came back with a bad report of how scary the land was, how many people already possessed the land, and that the Lord should have allowed them to just stay in Egypt as slaves. (The Israelites cry that phrase out ALOT.) Every time they come against any type of stress, pressure, adversity, roadblock, discomfort, they immediately resort back to the old lie that their slavery was better than their freedom. They forget the power of the Lord in their life, they have temporary amnesia about all of the miracles the Lord performed delivering them from their oppressors. They doubt everything He has done for them, and let fear consume them. They repeat this cycle time and time again.

The going gets tough, and suddenly they freeze and wail in torment like a people without a God. So often, we do this too.. As soon as disaster strikes, we forget every powerful weapon that we have: our gift of prayer, our promises in the Word, and our gift of the Holy Spirit who has taken up residence inside of our hearts. We magnify the giants before us and freeze up before the promised land.

So when the Israelites did this at the edge of the Promised Land only a year into the journey, the Lord turned them around and sent them right back into the wilderness. They weren’t ready for their promise to be fulfilled.

Now in Deuteronomy, it is 40 years into their wanderings and they are BACK in front of the promised land. The Lord is giving them a 2nd chance to possess the land He is offering them. And that is what caught my attention this morning. The Lord brought them to the promise, but He will not force them into it. They have to take on an active role in receiving from the Lord by stepping forth in faith into a land that looks frightening filled with giants. They have to hear the instruction to go forth, and then they have to move their feet in obedience and GO forth.

The Lord tells them that He will clear away the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

These nations are much more powerful and numerous than the Isrealites. It’s no wonder they were afraid. But they serve a mighty God who can and will do what He says He will do. If God says to move into the promised land and He will clear away a path. You can trust Him and go into your promise.

The Lord also told the Israelites that He wouldn’t clear out all of their enemies at once or the wild animals would overtake the land. Instead, He says that He will drive them out little by little as the Israelites occupy the land. So as they take possession of what is theirs from the Lord, the Lord will clear the way.

But they have to KEEP on possessing the land, keep on walking, keep on trusting, keep on moving farther and farther into the promise and the Lord will drive out every enemy in the way.

Then, Deuteronomy gets even better! God tells them, wherever you set your foot will be yours!!! He is giving them the land, but they have to take the steps. Every step forward, they can have the land. BUT, it’s not theirs until they possess it! They have to take steps forward and ahead to possess what has already been given to them.

Gorgeous Girl, the Lord has promised you things and He will be faithful to deliver on His promise. Be on careful watch that when He brings you to a promise, you are faithful to step into it. To possess what is rightfully yours from the Lord.

What makes this story even more amazing is that the Lord names the Israelites as His own special treasure. His holy nation chosen by Him. But, then later when Jesus came and walked the earth, died, and was resurrected, the promises made to the Israelites extended to you and me and all believers who put their faith in Jesus!

So you are also His special treasure. We are His Holy Nation, set apart to possess all that He has already accomplished for us. The Lord has already won battles on your behalf, but we have to walk into the promises of God. We have to trust that we can possess what has already been given to us. You have a rich inheritance as a child of the living God, don’t let any giant standing before you this morning try to convince you how big they are.

Your mighty God is bigger. God is bigger than the giants of fear, anxiety, broken relationships, difficulties at work or home, financial worries, or any other thing that is standing in your promised land this morning. God is bigger. And He is calling you to step forward and possess what belongs to you. Health belongs to you. Peace belongs to you. Joy belongs to you. Truth and wisdom belongs to you. Identity grounded in the word of God belongs to you. Anything that tries to tell you otherwise, is a lie that needs to be replaced with the truth of how Big your God is. This morning magnify the Lord you serve and watch your giants shrink. Then, be bold, move ahead into the promises of God, and watch Him drive them out before you. He will slay your giants. Step forth Gorgeous! Where you step, the land will be yours!!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for connecting the journey of the Israelites to our walk with You today. Help each of us to recognize our promised land when we arrive, and help us to step forward into the promises of the Lord and possess what you have already made available to us through Christ. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

Blessings to you today!