Whilst camping out close to the
Jordan river, God gave Moses several instructions to follow once
they enter the Promised Land. Moses in turn told Joshua and the
leaders as he was not allowed to enter into Canaan. Now one
instruction that God gave Moses was the boundaries of the land that
they should conquer.
"Then the Lord said to Moses, "Give
these instructions to the Israelites: When you come into the land
of Canaan, which I am giving you as your special possession, these
will be the boundaries." Numbers 34:1,2
And then God gave them the
boundaries of the land. The size of the land was generous and there
was more than enough space for everyone. The sad part is that the
Israelites never conquered the whole portion of the land given to
them. They got tired before occupying the whole area destined for
them. They got tired of fighting and settled for less than what God
wanted to give them. In David's day they did occupy most of the
land given to them after he conquered most of their enemies, but
after the split of Israel and Judah they never again occupied their
'birthright'. They drifted away from God and in the end they were
exiled from their land. Only in 1948 were they given the chance to
return to their land, Israel, as rulers. But they are still not
occupying the whole portion of land that God had promised them.
It makes me feel sad when I look at
the Bible as a whole and realise that the Israelites never reached
their full potential as God had planned for them. I know one day in
the Millenium they will be the top nation and will stay in the area
God had ordained for them. But for now, they haven't measured up.
Why? In short, they loved this world and this world's gods too
much.
The same applies to us. God wants
to give us a generous portion of the 'Promised Land' here on earth.
He wants to bless us and to lead us unto new heights. But we need
to do our part. Last week I spoke about leaving sin in our lives
behind and I would like to motivate you this week to not give up in
your quest. We shouldn't get tired in the process of getting the
'Canaanites' out of our lives. We shouldn't slack and think that if
we can get rid of 80% it is good enough. It is not. We need to
continue moving forward, step by step and gaining the territory
that is ours for the taking. Leave all sinful desires out on the
curb, it is not worth it. God and the generous land He wants to
bless us with is waiting, don't let it slip through your fingers
just because you love this world's gods too much. Rather reach your
full potential and be the vessel that God can use for the
furtherance of His kingdom!
Father, thank you for blessing us
with so much. We are so sorry that we don't always grab onto all
that You want to give us. Please help us to leave our sinful
desires and to gain victory in our lives over areas that don't
please You. We want to follow You and Your ways. In Jesus Name.
Amen