Today’s Reading, Joshua 16-18
Focal Scripture: Joshua 18:3 “So Joshua asked the Israelites, “How long will you delay going out to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, gave you?”
To delay is to disobey. I have said this phrase often to my son. I want him to understand that immediate obedience is what is needed not just in our home but also when it’s one’s to his walk with the Lord. I want to be clear here, I am not saying he can’t ask questions or try to understand something that has been asked of him. I am talking about clear requests that do not need an explanation. I want him to understand that we don’t need to complicate clear instructions because when we do, we carry that over into other parts of our lives.
In today’s reading we see that happen. The Israelites have the land. They are to divide it up, survey it, write about it and live on it. However, they are delaying. They are asking questions instead of being obedient. They are becoming distracted instead of being on mission. Joshua has to step in and help them along the path. Their delay caused a distraction for the leader.
You may be thinking how is this going to be a devotion today. It becomes a devotion when we see that disobedience causes a delay in action. In our Christian walk we are asked to do many things. We are asked to share our faith. We are asked to pursue God. We are asked to die to ourselves. When we delay to do these things we are disobeying our Lord. This brings about real challenges.
The challenge we have as believers is to listen to the Lord and follow through. If we think obedience is optional we won’t step out in faith. We won’t follow the Lord wherever he takes us in our lives. This can lead to others not being obedient to what God has called them to in their lives.
I hope today that you will examine your life and ask if you are delaying in following the Lord. If you are start being obedient today. It will change everything in a good way.
Tomorrow, I plan on reading Joshua 19-21
