A Review of Joshua 21:43-45
The Lord gave Israel all the land He promised: God will never fail in fulfilling His promises toward us. The scripture confirmed that He honours His word more than His name; (Psalms 138:2). He created all things, and He has the capacity to make anything happen. With us, there are a lot of things that we cannot make happen, but His ability to even create the world from nothing is a significant proof that God will fulfill whatever He has promised us, just as He did with His people, Israel.
After bringing to pass what He has promised, we must act by taking possession of whatever He has given to us. The people of God took possession of the land the Lord gave to them; when the Lord provides us with an inheritance or fulfills His promises in our lives, we have a role to play, and the role is taking possession of whatever we are given. One stage of the process is GIVING POSSESSION, another stage is TAKING POSSESSION of what the Lord has given to us.
Many believers stop at seeing God give them something that He has promised them, bringing them into a pool of blessings that the Lord has purposed in His heart to do, but many believers stop there; just staring at the blessings, opportunities, influence; etc. which Lord has given to them. Sometimes we just talk about them, we testify of God’s goodness about them, but we are not taking possession of it because we are not acting or doing nothing about them.
Taking possession means activating the blessings and converting them into reality. Taking possession is starting that business, embarking on that degree programme, applying for that loan, joining that professional association, beginning to write that book, starting that ministry; etc. These and more are the expected actions that we must take, which bring us right at the centre of the full physical manifestation of these blessings. The factor that inhibits us is fear of the unknown, what if I fail? There are not enough resources to start; etc. But He that began a good work in us will make available all the provisions needed, and all we need to do is act! (Philippians 1:6).
However, one thing about dealing with God is knowing that He will never fail to bring us into the fulfillment of whatever He Has promised. The second stage is for us to take possession and walk in that position, we confess it and act. Acting is taking possession of what the Lord has given to us. The Lord told Joshua that “wherever the soul of your feet shall tread, I have given you as your inheritance” (Joshua 1:3). The Bible recorded that Jericho’s gates were locked, but God promised that He would give them the land of Jericho, instructing the Israelites to walk into the land. And at the end of the day, the people of God took over the land after the wall of the city fell flat. So, the logic is that even when things do not look like it is happening, and God says “yes”, it does not matter who says “no” or what the circumstances look like; (Joshua 6:1-3). In other words, for us to take possession of God’s promised blessings, we must grow spiritually and begin to work by faith and not by sight; (2 Corinthians 5:7).
The final stage according to Joshua chapter 21 verse 43 is that we must settle in whatever land the Lord has brought us. The Bible recorded that the Lord gave Israel all the land that He swore to their ancestors. In other words, God provided everything they needed and gave them their possessions. The people of God did not stop there they possessed it. They took over the land and the process did not end in that place. They did not take over for a while and moved on. The Bible says they dwelt in it; some version says they settled in it.
A lot of believers are busy wandering from pillar to post, wandering from one place to another. Some believers even think that until they change their church, spouse, job, business, and relationships, they will not be able to see the manifestations of God’s promises in their lives. Some of these believers have missed it because they have only walked away from God’s plan for their lives. God will never fail! He has blessed us with a family, a marriage, a church family, with the right community of friends, but if we keep moving from one place to another, it means we are not settling in God’s provision and supply, and this will take us away from this manifestation.
The internet is not helpful in this sense, because it gives us access to millions of options every second of the day, hence creating a significant amount of confusion, especially for those believers who are not in constant fellowship with God though the Person of the Holy Spirit. In a minute, you have millions of options on Google and other popular search engines.
Also, as much as it is great to seek the advice of people around us, we must be cautious that we don’t fall into errors, based on the advice given to us by these people around us. Some of them mean well for us, but it is possible that they do not have a clue to God’s plan, provision, and agenda for us. Hence, they offer advice to us based on the limited information they have about us and our present circumstances.
And if we choose to live our lives based on the options that the internet or other sources provide, it is possible for us to walk away from our God-given land, these divinely orchestrated opportunities, and His blessings.
God desires that whatever He has given to the believer, we must take it, dwell and settle in them. So, for the divine process of fulfilment to be complete, we must be encouraged to SEE the blessings of God in our lives, not only see, but TAKE possession of it and SETTLE in it.
