We have not walked this way before!

Our second son stayed in the hostel when he studied in IIT Madras. He had a Yamaha bike, and he used to come home often! He by nature, was not very strong in navigation. He will suddenly lose his way and call his Dad to find out directions to where he had to go! His cousins used to make fun of him, saying that he knew two different routes to come home, one through 11th Main road and the other through 12th Main Road because our house was between 11th and 12th Main roads! In that area, he takes after me. I used to pray, 'Lord, show me the way' every time I had to drive myself to a new place! Those were the days before the advent of Google maps!

There are several stages in the history of Israel, and each stage is a picture of our own spiritual experience. Israel in Egypt is a picture of our bondage to sin before we met Jesus Christ. Israel, in the wilderness, shows the results of our rebellion and disobedience to His Word! Canaan does not represent heaven, as some think. Canaan was their inheritance. I believe it represents the fullness of life that God wants for us now. God wants us to enjoy victorious Christian living. We do not have to wait until we get to heaven for that. You and I can have victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil.

God instituted a method for the Israelites to inherit that victory, for they had not walked that way before! He instructed the Israelites to follow the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant some 2000 cubits behind so that they will know clearly where the Lord was leading. Then all they had to do was just blindly follow the Ark! Joshua 3:4 says, "Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before." The same instructions hold good for us even today! If we can keep the Word always in our mind, read and obey it, this victory will be ours.

My friend, we do not know what this New Year holds. To possess the victories God has ordained for us, let us decide to be obedient to the Word in every area of our lives!

Categories: Weekly DevotionalsAuthor: Hephzibah StephenDate: 7th January 2020 Share: newsletterDisplay date: 8th January 2020

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