Do you notice what comes first?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.”
(Joshua 3:5 (NIV))

Take a good look at the order of events in the passage above.

Do you notice what comes first?

Too many people expect God to do amazing things in their lives before they do anything to prepare themselves for it. They want the rewards before the commitment and the sacrifices are made.

God has an order in which He works. He seeks people who have humbled themselves and have prepared themselves for His presence. Take a look at Jabez. He prayed to have his area of influence increased so that more people would know about God. Take a look at Moses. He was raised in Pharaoh’s palaces, yet, he ended up tending sheep in the desert. During this time, he learned about God and was obedient to what his new place in life meant. Take a look at Mary. She was of such a nature that she found favor with God. You don’t find favor with God by going against everything that He instructs. You find favor through an earnest desire to know God personally.

Take a look at today’s society. We have become a society of instant food, instant credit, and instant divorce. If we want something today, we order it today and get it today. There is no personal patience. We expect everything now and our way. We have even extended this to our outlook and understanding of God. Even preachers are preaching this with all of the prosperity sermons that you hear. Don’t get me wrong. God wants to bless us, but the blessing only comes AFTER you have prepared yourself for that blessing.

What order do you expect in your life?

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Are you ready and willing?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

The LORD has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you.
(Joshua 23:9 (NIV))

See what God can do!

When we fully rely on God and earnestly seek His will, then we align ourselves with what God desires to do. We become instruments through which God can be glorified. It is not of our own doing that we glorify God, but it is through our willingness to become servants that God can be glorified. Nothing that we can do of our own can ever glorify God. Our desires open up our lives so that God can work through us.

All God needs is a willing heart and an open heart in order for His will to be done. We don’t even really need to be capable of doing anything on our own. In fact, God uses people who the world sees as not capable. Perhaps all we need is an attitude like that conveyed in Isaiah.

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
(Isaiah 6:8 (NIV))

In order for God to work as He did in Joshua, we simply need to be willing to go.

Are you ready and willing to be ready just like we are told in Isaiah?

Copyright 1998 – 2014 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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