Time to Put Your Foot Down - Sharon Jaynes
This week I started reading Joshua and I got stuck on chapter 1 verse 3. I camped out on the east side of the Jordan for three days, just pondering that one verse.
“I will give you every place where you set your foot.”
I was about to head into the chapter 5 where Joshua leads the Israelites into The Promised Land…finally. But God wasn’t quite ready for me to go. He wanted me to get this one important truth.
In order to take The Promised Land…my Promised Land…I had to put my foot down. It isn’t enough to know God’s Word, you have to believe it. It isn’t enough to simply believe God’s Word, you have to obey it, act on it, grab hold of it to make it yours.
Just because God gives a promise does not automatically make it yours. The first generation Israelites out of Egypt had the promise of the Land, but they never experienced it because they didn’t take it. Experiencing God’s promises requires knowing it in your head, believing it in your soul, acting on it in your life…grabbing hold.
Miracles. I just love them. Don’t you? I love reading about times when God mysteriously and supernaturally intervenes in someone’s life—times when what is impossible with man become a reality with God.
But almost every time God performs a miracle in the Bible, He requires men and women to participate in that miracle. To take hold of the miracle. To put their foot down.
Raise your staff. (Exodus 14:16)
Throw in a branch. (Exodus 15:25)
Set your foot in the water. (Joshua 3:13)
March around the walls. (Joshua 6:15)
Blow the trumpet. Smash the jars. (Judges 7:20)
Make a cake of bread. (1 Kings 17:7-24)
Gather empty jars. (2 Kings 4:3)
Dip your leprous body in the Jordan. (2 Kings 5:10)
Fill the empty jugs with water. (John 2:7)
Pick up your mat. (John 5:8)
Stretch out your hand. (Matthew 12:13)
Cast out your net. (Luke 5:4)
Break the bread. (Luke 9:16)
Serve the fish. (Luke 9:16)
Stand up straight. (Luke 13:13)
There are so many more examples. But thinking on these, I started getting the picture. Yes, God does miracles, but He also wants our participation. God could have done everyone of those miracles without a single human being’s interaction. But He didn’t.
God wants a relationship with His people. He wants a relationship with YOU. God doesn’t want spectators. He wants participants who know, believe, and act.
So here’s what I am going to do today. I’m going to put my foot down! I am going to let go of doubt and grab hold of faith.
Is there something you’ve been praying about in your own life, and perhaps God is saying to you: “I will give you every place where you set your foot…but you’ve got to set your foot first.”
Your miracle could be one stop of obedience away.
If you’re ready to put your foot down and grab hold of God’s promises, then leave a comment that says “I’m ready!”
