Possessing the Land - Pt 1

And Joshua commanded the officers of the people, “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for within three days you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’” (Joshua 1:10-11 ESV).

Sitting in my office and contemplating the year ahead is easy. Facing it may be a little more difficult. It is cold in Texas today. I will spend most of the day with clients. This is the primary day I’ve scheduled in my week to see people who are all hurting from the circumstances of their present journey. Some might call it “counseling” or “life-coaching.” I prefer to reference it as simple teaching. I share what I have been taught with those who may need little more than a nudge in the direction of peace and joy. This is the background of our reading today. Joshua has heard from the Lord. They are going to go into the land and possess it. There can be no doubt about that. Now he goes throughout the camp and simply tells them to pack up and get ready to go. In just here days they will travel across the river into this land “flowing with milk and honey” and inhabited by “giants.” The spies were sent in and they brought back good news. The people are ready. We need a bit of background here. The journey from Acacia Grove to the river's edge is an easy one, just a few miles over smooth ground. So we can assume that the Israelites probably finished relocating before the sun had risen. I'm sure the people were both excited and wondering if this was really happening. After all, forty years of wandering rarely increases our optimism. As they approached the river that formed a barrier between them and their longed-for promised land, what they saw by the light of day was both confusing and dreadful. The Jordan was defiantly impossible to cross. There's a simple sentence that gives us the picture: Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season (Joshua 3:15). The gentle Jordan was now a raging river, swelled to flood stage. Currents can reach up to 40-miles an hour when the Jordan floods. What is more, the plain that surrounds this river was packed with tangled brush and dense growth. The Bible tells us that they spent the next three days right there, the passing torrent eroding all confidence. An insistent "no" began to form in their hearts as they listened to the roar of the water. It's easy for us to relate, isn’t it? So many of us face a "personal Jordan River" that feels so permanent and powerful that we don't even try to cross it. We read about the abundant life, but can't make it out of the wilderness. But God can turn a "no way" into a highway! Maybe it’s time for you to pack. Let’s cross over. It is our land after all! Whatever obstacles seem insurmountable, remember that the Lord has already given you the final victory. Challenges merely make life interesting. We are overcomers; and, that makes our life all the more meaningful.