+DEV+ Renounce the Ruins

Date: May 17, 2012 9:50 PM
Topic: +DEV+  Renounce the Ruins

Renounce the Ruins

"Then the LORD said to Joshua, 'See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands' Joshua pronounced this solemn oath: 'Cursed before the LORD is the man who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho.'"  (Joshua 6:2, 26)
Scripture Focus: Joshua 6:1-26

Joshua's first military victory in the Promised Land was at Jericho. There the Lord showed His people how they would achieve their victories: not by might, nor by power, but by His Spirit.

Joshua could have set up a monument to memorialize his victory. Instead, he obeyed God's command to dedicate the city and its contents to destruction. Then he moved on to the next task God had for him.

Sometimes we're so focused on past triumphs that we miss how God may want to use us today. The apostle Paul knew this and wrote, "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead" (Philippians 3:13). We often apply this verse to how we are to treat failure. But Paul was speaking of his successes (3:7-8). God does not want us building monuments to the past; He wants us to rely on Him for the future.

Some things are not meant to be rebuilt or revisited. Like Paul, we can forget what is behind - good or bad - and take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of us (3:12).

Insight: What Victory (Or Defeat) Do You Find Yourself Memorializing? Leave It Behind And Cling To What Jesus Christ Has Built For You!