Thursday, January 12, 2017

Go and Possess

Submitted by Lara Cook
See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them. Deuteronomy 1:8


This New Year I have been seeing something on the internet about choosing your word for 2017. I am totally against making a New Year’s resolution but the thought of choosing just one word that I could use to describe what I want from this new year is very appealing.  My word for this year would be Possess. There is a whole list of things I would like to possess this year, and by possess, I really mean own, or take responsibility for. This past year I have let some things slide that I would like to recover.  It is easy to give in to hopelessness, exhaustion, busyness, and in the process, give up some very important parts of ourselves; and that makes Satan happy.  I would like to take back the parts of me that I have allowed Satan to steal and hand it all back to God -  physically, mentally, relationally, and spiritually. 
In the passage above, God is calling Joshua to take possession of the land that He has already claimed for him.  As Sam said this past Sunday, taking possession of anything requires you to take a step.  It requires you to move forward into battle, even if you are paralyzed in fear.  The beginning of victory is always in our mind.  Overcoming anything requires faith to step out in confidence.  God had already claimed the land for Joshua, but he still had to fight for it.  God likes us to have some skin in the game so that we are invested and committed. 
The Bible tells us in John 10:10 that The thief (Satan) comes to steal, kill, and to destroy.  Make no mistake about it, he will rob you blind of everything he can and all too often we help him.  This year make it your desire to fight to become stronger, healthier, in a deeper relationship with God and to speak life and love into earthly relationships.  Taking possession of the lost areas of your life will require courage in the face of fear.  It will require strength in the face of exhaustion and weakness.  It will require victory in the face of defeat.  It will require you to take a step – even if it is one foot at a time.  Fight the enemy for your ground.  Own it and take possession of the ground your Father proclaimed your and gratefully surrender it back to Him. 

Scripture to Claim:
Therefore understand today the Lord your God is He who goes before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and bring them down before you; so you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the Lord has said to you. (Deuteronomy 9:3)

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