Saturday, July 31, 2021

Joshua 17:16 Devotion by Stephen Taylor

Joshua 17:16

The people of Joseph replied, "The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who live in the plain have chariots fitted with iron, both those in Beth Shan and its settlements and those in the Valley of Jezreel."

 

As I was reading this morning, the Lord just reminded me how easily we can get focused on what we don’t have instead of Who we do have! We, like the Israelites, have the Lord God Almighty in our corner, and still, we worry and fret about things of this world.

 

I don’t see a lot of gratitude and trust in the Lord in these verses, and sometimes, my life looks the same. They say the hill country is not enough for them, but how much land did they own in Egypt? Or in the wilderness? It can be easy to forget where the Lord has brought us from and start looking for more. But I say that if we’re gonna start looking for more, then let’s start with more of His Presence, more time in His Word, more prayer, and fasting. Let’s be a people that look to serve more, love more, and die to self more! Our God is a God of abundance, but that doesn’t necessarily mean an abundance of things but rather an abundant life in Him!

 

The people’s lack of gratitude takes them away from peace, which is only found in the Lord, and quickly turns into fear. Notice how they say this land isn’t enough, AND they are too strong! When our hearts aren’t right, it leads to bigger problems. Not only are they not happy with what they have, but they are afraid to go take hold of what the Lord has promised to give them! It’s easy to pick on the Israelites, but trust me, we still do this today. We have to get out of self and into the Savior, or we will never walk in true freedom and receive all that He has for us!

 

Proverbs 4:23 - Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

 

Luke 6:45 – “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”

 

God bless! I love you all! Glory, Honor, and Praise now and forever to Papa God, Jesus Christ the Risen King, and the Spirit of Truth the Holy Spirit!

 

 

 

No comments:

Post a Comment