Reflection
In Joshua 23-24, Joshua gives his farewell words to the people of Israel. He instructs them to follow and love the Lord and not to fellowship with the Canaanite natives still living among them. In Joshua 24, he says, “Choose you this day whom you will serve.” Joshua wants the people to make a decision and not to waffle based on circumstances.
Every day we wake up, we need to make a choice. Are we going to walk with God or are we going to live for this world? We all face spiritual battles ahead. Some are intense struggles that we deal with on a day-to-day basis. Others are a momentary flare that we have to extinguish. How will we deal with them? Will we fall into temptation? Will we give in? Will we handle it the way the world would handle it, thereby losing our witness? Or will we be strong to overcome it and deal with it as the Lord would want?
A good soldier is never caught off guard. Whether they are going to a scheduled battle or under surprised attack, they are trained on how to react. Part of our spiritual warfare means waking up and saying, “I will choose to follow you Lord.” Certainly there’s a moment in our life where we make that initial commitment to follow the Lord. But in reality, it’s a commitment we need to make every day.
Prayer
Think about the ongoing struggles that you deal with – is there something that keeps coming up? Maybe something internal, at home or at work? Ask God to help you with those struggles and to deal with them as He would want. Spend time with the Lord and listen to His heart, especially in light of those battles. Thank and praise God for always being there and going before you.