Reading: Joshua 18
“How long will you be slack about going in and taking
possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given
you?” Joshua 18: 3
The land was subdued. Israel gathered together at the tent
of meeting. But seven tribes had still not divided their inheritance.
Overwhelmed? Insecure? No clear job description? Extreme
courtesy towards each other?
Joshua first chastised them and then gave them concrete
tasks to follow, “… go throughout the
land, writing a description of it with a view to their inheritance.” When
they returned with all the details written down in a book he cast lots for
them. Boundary-by-boundary all around each one.
How often I wonder do we, do I, freeze at the possibility of
a new inheritance in the Lord. Perhaps we stepped out in a blind act of faith
and suddenly have a whole new recognition of God’s character, but we don’t know
how to respond. Or a new responsibility has been given to us and we have no
idea where to start, or how to pursue a whole new beginning. What if we can’t
fulfill the call? So we become slack.
Sometimes we need to trust the words given to us in
scripture and in prayer. Write them down. Look at the land and the boundaries
and choose a particular lot—a concrete goal to live into. Listen carefully to
the desires God places in our hearts and follow those nudges with commitment.
The ones He has already given.
Psalm of Worship: Psalm 138: 3, 8
“On the day I called, you answered me, you increased my
strength of soul.
The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast
love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.”
