PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 13:33): I have always found this promise to be an interesting one, but also leads me to a sin confession from my heart. You made a promise to all the tribes of Your people of an inheritance of land, minus one—the tribe of Levi. To them You promises that You, our God, is their inheritance. I find this as a sin confession to me, Father, because I do not understand the why behind it. Maybe this will be revealed to me in a later quiet time, but right now I do not understand why. The tribe of Levi went through all the same battles and wars as the remainder of Your people, yet You never promised them any “material” things on this earth. You never promised them a piece of land to call their “home” on this earth. I must admit that I’d be a bit jealous and a little upset if I were in their situation, because as my tribe progressed through the battles and wars, seeing death, and putting in a LOT of effort and hard works, there would be nothing tangible in this life as a reward. Maybe this was the whole point behind this promise because You knew something about them that we obviously do not. Maybe they needed this type of promise so that they leaned on You more throughout their lives instead of being proud of some material things given to them by You. Maybe this was Your way of having them focus their spiritual radar solely on You instead of the material things of this life. Please forgive me for my often material or tangible way of thinking in this life, Father. I know that is not how You expect me to live this life.
PROMISE (verses 12:7-24): In these verses is a list of all the kings who were defeated as a result of the promise You made to Your people. At this point in time, a small group of people who were slaves of Egypt only a few decades prior had risen up to become strong enough in and through You to defeat 31 kings! How amazing is it to see the promise come to fruition through these many victories? A total of 31 kingdoms defeated up to this point all because You promised them it’d happen and they believed Your promise with all that they are. Thank You for this promise and the fulfillment of such, Father.
ATTITUDE (verse 13:33): I am so very grateful for the blessed life You’ve given my family and I, Father. We are able to donate money quite a bit, we’re able to help others when possible, and we’re still able to enjoy a somewhat decent life in this crazy world with a roof over our heads, food in our kitchen, and a seemingly never-ceasing source of electricity and water. Throughout all of this, however, I am reminded by this verse of my greatest blessing and inheritance—You. All of the material and tangible “things” in this world mean absolutely nothing without You in my life. Just as the tribe of Levi’s inheritance was promised to be You and not some land, I need to remember that I must always embrace an attitude of You being my inheritance in this life. Everything I receive, do, or am blessed with in this life is simply that—a blessing which You have given me. My true inheritance in this life has absolutely nothing to do with anything I can see, grab, touch, or own in this lifetime as it is the kingdom of Heaven. As a result of my faith in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, my one true inheritance is eternal salvation and joining You in Your kingdom in Heaven. Please continue to remind me of this great inheritance in my life, Father, so that I may always embrace an attitude of gratefulness towards any blessings and remember that none of them are a promised inheritance to me.
COMMAND (verses 13:6-7): You are very persistent in reminding Your people, especially Joshua, of the inheritance distribution You require of them for the promised land. Usually when You repeat Yourself it means that You are essentially “foot stomping” a message/instruction to Your people to ensure it’s followed. Here, You are stressing the fact that the lands they are claiming through all of the victories are meant to be distributed a very particular way and that they are not to deviate from that distribution. The command is quite simple—do what You have been telling them this entire time and do not deviate from it. Sounds simple and it seems they are successfully sticking to this command throughout this scripture thus far. I pray that I too can stick to Your consistent/stressed commands in my life, Father. I know that You often tell me to do things and I do struggle at times with following the way the Spirit leads my heart. Help me to be better at following through, Father.
EXAMPLE (verse 13:1): I find this very first verse in chapter 13 to be an interesting one. You essentially are reminding Joshua that he is getting old, which I’m sure nobody really wants to hear to be honest. I know I don’t like to hear it, because I feel it every day with how my body aches differently than my youth and recovers a lot slower than my youth. In this verse, however, You are reminding him that he’s getting old for a purpose. You do not want him to slow down. You are reminding him that he has quite a bit more to do with his final time on this earth, so he cannot take things slow and easy. You are reminding him that he must continue to take action on the steps You’ve provided for him along the way, to ensure that all the land that needs to be possessed is possessed as soon as possible. This reminds me that although You’ve already claimed victory on these battles, it’s up to Joshua and Your people to actually take the steps You’ve paved for them. I must be better at taking action on the steps You want me to take in this life, Father.
*DAILY NOTE: On this day, I’m reminded that I am getting older, but also that I’ve accomplished quite a bit in my life thus far. I may have deviated from Your will for my life quite often since coming to faith, but You never went away from me and I am grateful for that, Father. Today I am reminded that You are always paving the way for me, but that it’s up to me to ensure I’m taking the actions needed to move forward on the path You’re paving for my life. Is this job I start in a couple of days one of those steps? Are we going to be okay financially moving forward? Am I truly transitioning out of the military lifestyle/mindset properly to give back to my family and those around me properly and in the way You want me to? What are the next steps You have for me in my life, Father? I really do not know the answers to all of these questions, yet, but I’m certain they will be revealed to me when I’m ready to receive and when You are ready to send them to me. Thank You, Father, for the great conversation today.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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