Getting Stuck

After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. (Joshua 1:1-6 ESV). Don't you hate getting stuck? It’s New Year’s Eve as I write this devotional and I’m stuck! I usually try to get ahead a bit so that John Williams at Genesis can post the devotionals on the web site. With the holidays and my penchant for procrastination that may not happen on time. And, worse, I’m stuck considering what to write today. So, why not explore the dangers of being stuck? As Christians we can find ourselves spiritually stuck. This certainly was the case for the Israelites in their wilderness wanderings. They had been on the edge of their “Promised Land” before and turned away in fear of the enemy before them. Our reading today is the second time they were on the verge of entering in to their promise. It would have been tempting for them to stop there. They had left slavery behind, the wilderness is now history, and there's no more need for the manna and quail anymore. Why not just stay on the edge? For one thing, living on the edge of the life God has promised to us still leaves you lacking. God instructs Joshua: Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses (Joshua 1:3). The Israelites needed to physically step on the ground in order to claim the land as their own. With each small victory, tremendous spoils of war awaited them. The Bible said they would harvest food they didn't plant and live in houses they didn't build. But the temptation to stay in the land of "almost" was great. Joshua never got stuck in the land of "almost." The book of Joshua records no lag time between battles. If you quickly scan the book, you'll see repeated phrases like "Joshua conquered," "Joshua slaughtered," "Joshua traveled," "Joshua built," "Joshua continued." What a picture of someone moving forward! In only seven years, Joshua defeated 31 kings! Israel gained control of the Promised Land. Today, the simple message is that there can never really be a time when we are “stuck” if we are moving forward in the promise of God. After all, the promise we have in the New Covenant is much greater than that of the Old Covenant. Spiritually, everywhere we walk is ours in the power of Christ!