Week Four - There's More Ahead

The book of Joshua has been my study since the first part of this year. I came to chapter eleven, which reads, "So Joshua took the whole land according to all that the Lord said unto Moses." The chapter lists 31 kings, and all the cities and areas now conquered. 

It sounds good to think they have conquered Canaan and are settled now on both the east and west sides of the Jordon, but then we come to chapter 13. Joshua is old, but God says, "There remaineth yet very much land to be possessed." God lists vast areas of land and kingdoms to the north, south, and further west of their current position still for the taking.

God knows there is much yet ahead of them. As a matter of fact, most of the rest of the book of Joshua lines out more of who gets what and how they divide up the land.

I got to thinking about the realization that all they had conquered was not enough--God had more. His promise was all the land of Canaan, not just enough for them to be satisfied with. But they had to conquer that land and do their part by believing in God's promise and acting upon it in faith.

How often are we guilty of settling for what we have? I'm not talking about being content but being expectant. We are to be content but also pressing forward. The two are not contradictory.

When we settle for what we have and grow complacent, we fail to claim our riches in Christ. When we rejoice and give thanks for what we have with the expectation of God's continued blessing, we get closer to what God is talking about.

God didn't want Israel to stop there - to settle with just enough. He wanted them to have the whole thing. And He wants us to have the whole thing! To know the fullness of His Spirit, to recognize His hand upon our lives, and to be overcomers!

God has more for us than we imagine. So why do we settle?  Laziness? Fear? Unsure about how to move forward? Tired of the battle? None of these excuses hold sway with God. He expects us to keep growing, keep following, and keep conquering.

His cry to us, as it was to the Israelites, is to be strong and courageous. 1 Corinthians 16:13 says, "Quit you like men." It means to be venturous, to stand, to conquer. Let's continue forward into 2025, strong and courageous. There remaineth yet very much ahead.

PS - for me? Ahead is another devotional book called 50 More Bible Words. It is with the editor now. That will determine how much more work needs to be done, but I'm excited to think this may be ready for publication this year. Meanwhile, we are booked to teach in many places and continue serving the Lord.