Joshua 18 - Your Land Lies Subdued

Change. I’m told life is all about it, it’s not easy and it’s a major constant in life. I’d agree with all three, especially the first. We humans have a tendency to nestle in, build a comfort system we agree with and that becomes our new normal. As a result, anything that stands in stark contrast to our self-established “normal world” is seen as an outlier and requires us to change. Most often begrudgingly.

Speaking of, Marge and I are undergoing just this type of change thanks to the blessing of a new dog, Blue. We have been patiently praying and waiting on God to provide a new addition to our family and in a process that has spanned 6 months, it resulted in Blue’s arrival yesterday. Let’s just say that 24 hours with Blue has already brought great change to our normally quiet, docile, even boring household. Our normal patterns have been upended as pet ownership asks new and different things of us. Even in this situation it can be both joyful as well as frustrating. Change requires alot of us as it asks us to question, what is normal?

Now think about the great changes that happen when you become a Christian. For all of your life, you have been marching to the beat of your own drum and once you call upon Jesus to save you, the biggest change of all ensues. The Holy Spirit moves in, your old nature is challenged and as a result the battle ensues, demanding change occur every minute of every day. You see, this is not a temporary change, it’s not one that you can deal with for a day or two, it’s a life change. And well, they are by far the toughest. To not just adapt to a few small new things in your life, but actually change the very way that you perceive and live life.

Today in Joshua chapter 18 we see an example of this as the 7 remaining tribes are still waiting to claim their portions of the Promised Land. Now think carefully about the Israelites here in this scenario. Where they had been, how they had been living and what was normal to them. They came from 400 years of slavery in Egypt before being freed by God and hurried through a parted sea to safety. After this they wandered through the desert for over 40 years, their disobedience to God a cost that moved them into a harsh nomadic lifestyle. Their daily pattern was wandering a dry, dusty path that followed the cloud of the Lord, going when He went and stopping when He stopped. They were ready to fold up their tents in minutes and they could set up camp just as fast. They were constantly on the move, quick to leave their surroundings and quick to forget what lied behind them. Their daily bread was provided by the hands of God in manna from the sky and they had just enough for the day they lived in. As Americans today, I think we would all quickly shun this lifestyle and much prefer our stationary familiar ways. But for God’s people, it’s all they knew, it was their normal.

Now that they had arrived in the Promised Land a massive life change loomed before them. Go claim a piece of land and live on it. Build a house upon it, farm the land, and raise a family. This must have been a completely crazy concept to people that for 440 years and a hundred generations, had never witnessed this. The new life that God had offered them was requiring change that they were, at the time, not capable of perceiving. They needed help to understand and embrace this change. And that help came from Joshua, uttering words from God that were both encouraging and penetrating.

“The land lay subdued before them. There remained among the people of Israel seven tribes whose inheritance had not yet been apportioned. So Joshua said to the people of Israel, “How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? Joshua 18:1b-3

Joshua says, enough is enough. God is blessing you in a way that requires a complete lifestyle change, yet you are resisting and just sitting there, go get your land! And in a line that greatly touches me, we’re told simply, “the land lay subdued before them.” God’s Promised land laid before them, empty, safe, full of provision and holding the abundant blessings of God. Yet they were continuing to live in their old ways, a few hundred yards away from God’s goodness.

You know today, this is the way many people live their lives. They have etched out a comfy life, full of what they perceive as abundant "normal" goodness. Because of the history of how they have lived, they refuse to look beyond the horizon to what God really has for them. You see, God has a new life for you, an abundant life that will offer more than you could ever imagine. This new life God has for you lies subdued before you, all you must do is leave the old normal life behind and step into the new life He has for you.

Today if you are living in your old ways, doing as you please, tolerating the sin in your life and just operating on cruise control, lift your eyes to the horizon and see what God has set before you. Your sin, if not forgiven is enough to cost you eternity in Heaven in the presence of God. We have all sinned, no one is perfect before God, but you don’t have to be perfect, only Jesus Christ does. You see, God sent His only Son to be the perfect sacrifice for the penalty of our sins against God. He sent His Son to offer us a new life, a life where we can live with the promise that when our earthly bodies perish, our souls will live on in eternal harmony in the very presence of God. This life lays subdued before you, all you must do is like the Israelites, step out in faith, leave that old way of life and step into the new. Don’t resist change but embrace it. For it is there in this new land that God has for you, that you will find the glory of Jesus Christ.

I pray that today you will no longer put off claiming the subdued land that God has laid at your feet. He sent Jesus just for you. Call out to Jesus to save you from your sin and experience a new life that is so full of joy, freedom, peace and goodness that you will immediately recognize that it could only come directly from your loving Heavenly Father.

Take time today to stop and pray with someone. God will give you the very words they need to hear.

The newest Potter, Blue the Aussie