Devoted only to God

Joshua 7:10-12—The Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why have you fallen upon your face? Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I imposed on them.  They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have acted deceitfully, and they have put them among their own belongings.  Therefore the Israelites are unable to stand before their enemies; they turn their backs to their enemies, because they have become a thing devoted for destruction themselves. I will be with you no more unless you destroy the devoted things from among you.”

It’s easy to get caught up in the things of this world.  Especially in America, more is more and bigger is better.  We grow up believing that if we work hard enough, we can have the American Dream—that we should want the American Dream.  But God tells us that our central focus should be Him-we should want Him, be hungry for Him, crave him.  When we become too attached to something in this world—a car, jewelry, clothing, labels, etc.—those things interfere with our relationship with God. When we are not focused on God, we become vulnerable to the enemies’ attack.  We might even feel like God has abandoned us.  Intellectually, we know He has promised never to abandon us, but sometimes we distance ourselves so far from Him that our human bodies and minds cannot feel or hear Him.  We are called to declutter and fix our attention on Him so that he envelops us in His protective fortress.  In that space, we can feel peace and contentment no matter what the world hurls in our direction.

Today as you pray and meditate on His Word, dig deep into your heart.  Is there an area of your life where you are holding back from God? Is there an area where you could release that last stronghold of control and offer your complete life as a sacrifice to Him.  Pray that God would give you a willing spirit to foster the release in your life.  Thank Him for the ultimate sacrifice He made through the crucifixion death of His Son, Jesus Christ.