Are You Prepared to See God’s Wonders?
Joshua 3:3-9 And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore. And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you. And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people. And the LORD said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan. And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the LORD your God.
Let’s first consider some of the background of this passage. Joshua has just taken over the leadership of the nation of Israel. The task is overwhelming that Joshua is now to undertake. He must lead the nation into a land that is occupied with nations that don’t want to leave. He must prepare the people to have courage to take the land that God has promised them. So, the background is understood contextually. Let’s now look at the application to our lives.
Did you hear about the boy who failed all his college work? He wired his mother: “Failed everything; Prepare Papa.” His mother wired back, “Papa prepared; Prepare yourself.” This is the message a lot of us need in view of our relationship with the Lord. God is prepared to do wondrous things in our lives, but are we prepared for the Lord to use us. When we prepare ourselves properly, we then can see the wonders of the Lord. This is found in verse 5. The work of sanctification is carried on in the heart of the believer by the co-operation of the human and the Divine: man works, God works. God, in all His dealings with man, in grace, recognizes man as a free agent, capable of receiving or rejecting His grace. Man is not passive, he is active. He is of his own free will to yield to the influence of the Spirit of God. He is to resist sin. He is to prove how he may most successfully overcome temptation; He is to keep himself unspotted from the world. He is ever to be watchful. What are you doing to sanctify your heart and life so that you can see the wonders that God has in store for you? Will you miss out this fall push because you were wandering aimlessly through the push and you miss seeing God’s wonders!
He Loved Me
He loved me, even when a sinner I trampled on His love;
He loved me still, though straying I spurned His home above.
And still He loved, and loving, For me He bled and died;
Then loving on and wooing, He drew me to His side.
And now, I too, am loving, Yea, loving Him, mine own,
And loving, I am living For Him, and Him alone!