ESOCS Devotional 8 August 2024 – When We Walk with the Lord
MEMORY VERSE: “And the Lord said to Joshua, Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.” Joshua 3:7
TEXT: JOSHUA 3:7-17
And the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 8 You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan.’ ”
9 So Joshua said to the children of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God.” 10 And Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites: 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan. 12 Now therefore, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe. 13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap.”
14 So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, 15 and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest), 16 that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.
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God invited Joshua for a walk with Him in the mission of crossing the Jordan river into the land God was about to give to the Israelites. The land spanned from the desert to Lebanon and from the great river, the Euphrates to the great sea on the west. But to be able to do this successfully, Joshua was required to know and live by the word of God, day and night (Joshua 1:1-8).
The decision to walk with the Lord does not just mean to be a member of a Church, or to take up Church responsibility and become up and doing. It is more of being in Christ and allowing the word of God to be the ruler of your life. Like Joshua, we have the invitation of God to walk with Him in obedience and in total faith in Him. (John 3:16). In responding positively like Joshua did, a firm decision is required of us and that is: to obey and serve God through Jesus Christ and no one else.
Nothing pleases God with men as the show of total submission to walk with Him when He calls. In Deuteronomy 6:25, Moses assured the Israelites: “And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.” Truly, there is nothing God cannot do to honour and bless the righteous.
In our text today, in confirmation of His promise to Joshua, God decided to exalt Joshua in the eyes of the people of Israel. Anyone God exalts can never be demoted by men. God will surely exalt you in the eyes of men and women of substance, in Jesus name. Amen (Joshua 3:7).
This means a lot of things. Anyone who God exalts in the eyes of men is one who among other things is able to make uncommon marks in what he does. At his command in prayers, miracles, signs and wonders happen to the amazement of onlookers. He becomes a carrier of such anointing that flows and impacts the lives of others who believe. Joshua was such a man. At his command and direction, the priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant stepped their feet in River Jordan and the water from upstream stopped flowing and there was a dry ground for the Israelites to walk through (Joshua 3:9-17).
Till date, God has continued to exalt men and women who walk with Him. You are thus urged to fully take up the task of the great commission and you will see the hands of the Lord lifting you in the eyes of the people (Mark 16:15-18).
- Have you started to experience the exaltation of the Lord in response to your service?
- Lord, let me experience the upliftment that comes from you, in Jesus name. Amen.
Further Reading: Daniel 5:1-12; Luke 4:31-end; Acts 16:6-24
ESOCS Devotional 8 August 2024
