My Promise Land

As I continue to read the story of the Israelites I am struck again and again by just how similar I am to them. I see so much of myself in their actions and attitudes. Reading about their story and God's responses  causes me to turn inward and examine my own heart. In this passage I read recently the Israelites are preparing to cross over into the promise land.

"On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho the Lord said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places. Take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess. . . . But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live. And then I will do to you what I planned to do to them." Numbers 33:50-56

God gave the Israelites  the promise land to possess. The Israelites knew without a doubt that the Lord wanted to bring them into the land to settle. They knew the Lord's will for them. They did not have to question whether they would be able to take over the land, they just had to be willing. God would be the one fighting for Israel, driving out the inhabitants, they just had to obey and follow Him.

I am not an Israelite, I am not preparing for battle against nations, I am not moving to a new country. However, I am a child of God and He has a will for my life. In the simplest form, I am supposed to love the Lord my God with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my mind, and with all my strength, and love my neighbor as myself (Mark 12:30-31). More specifically I am to "be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 5:16) and to do the good works God prepared in advance for me to do (Ephesians 2:10).

God's will for my life, my promise land, is to walk in a relationship with Him, to enter into His rest. The question is will I drive out all the inhabitants in the land? Will I destroy all the carved images and cast idols and demolish all the high places? What are the inhabitants in my life that should be driven out? What are the carved images and cast idols in my heart? What are the high places where I dishonor my God?  God's will is for me to take possession of the land, to settle in it, and I don't have to do it on my own. He has given me the power to do so through the death of Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit. He will fight for me, but will I obey and follow Him?

If I choose not to obey, my relationship with Him will suffer. Those things in my life, inhabitants, that I should remove, will draw me away from Him, they will entice me to compromise, just as they did the Israelites. The things which I make idols in my heart, that I worship with my thoughts, time, and attention,  will keep me from fully loving God with ALL my heart, soul, strength, and mind. If I keep the high places, those areas or activities which I know lead to compromise and idolatry, I will have trouble. They will be barbs in my eyes and thorns in my sides, they will cause me pain. The Lord may even choose to discipline me.

I must drive out the inhabitants. I must destroy the cast idols and carved images. I must demolish the high places. For I long to enter into rest, to live in the promise land God has given to me. What is it in my life and heart I need to get rid of?

". . . let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Hebrews 12:1b