Stubborn Enemies
Joshua led the Israelites to conquer most of, Canaan, the Promised Land, before he divided the land by lot to each tribe. Then, each tribe was to drive out the rest of the Canaanites, so they could live in total obedience to God and fulfill the covenant relationship with Him. However, as we read about each tribe taking their section, we find that none of them were able to drive out the Canaanites completely.(Joshua 15:63) This became a huge problem that led the people of God to worship idols and forsake the law of the Lord.
The same is true for us today. When we get saved and come to have a personal relationship with Christ, He drives out some of the enemies, the sins of our past. He helps us leave the friends that would lead us in the wrong direction, too. However, He leaves it up to us to trust Him for the power to rid our lives of certain sins and to overcome other stubborn enemies of living a holy life. If we do not rise to the challenge and trust Him for the power to drive them out, they will drag us down and keep us from fulfilling His will for our lives.
It reminds me of the story of Jesus' disciples, when they could not drive the demon out of the young man, and Jesus rebuked them. They had not been praying, so they did not have the spiritual power to cast out that demon. We need to pay attention to God's command to drive out all of the sins and the hindrances to living for Him. We can do it by faith in Him and the power of the Spirit.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Joshua 18-20.
The same is true for us today. When we get saved and come to have a personal relationship with Christ, He drives out some of the enemies, the sins of our past. He helps us leave the friends that would lead us in the wrong direction, too. However, He leaves it up to us to trust Him for the power to rid our lives of certain sins and to overcome other stubborn enemies of living a holy life. If we do not rise to the challenge and trust Him for the power to drive them out, they will drag us down and keep us from fulfilling His will for our lives.
It reminds me of the story of Jesus' disciples, when they could not drive the demon out of the young man, and Jesus rebuked them. They had not been praying, so they did not have the spiritual power to cast out that demon. We need to pay attention to God's command to drive out all of the sins and the hindrances to living for Him. We can do it by faith in Him and the power of the Spirit.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Joshua 18-20.