“Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you…” (Joshua 1:3)
God spoke these words to Joshua as he was leading the children of Israel into the promised land of Canaan. They show us a principle God uses when God gives us spiritual blessings, such as the Word of God, prayer, worship, spiritual community and many, many others. When God gives them to us we own them. But, according to the principle we learn from God’s dealings with Joshua, we do not possess them until we use them.
Many people own a Bible but they never read it. According to this principle they own their Bible but they do not possess their Bible. God has given everyone the gift of prayer. God has given us access to what God calls “the throne of grace” from which God dispenses all kinds of blessings we do not earn, achieve, or deserve.
All we have to do is ask God for those spiritual blessings. Millions don’t know about that throne. Even worse, millions who know never approach that throne. James has a word for them: “You have not because you ask not.”
The same can be said of faith, worship, spiritual community with other believers, communion with God, forgiveness, the mercy of God that withholds what we deserve, and the grace of God that lavishes on us all kinds of blessings we don’t deserve.
The application of this principle Joshua learned from God is simply this: possess your possessions.
Dick Woodward, 24 April 2009
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