Walk of Ownership

WALKING WITH GOD. No.11

Josh 1:3 the LORD said to Joshua ….I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.

Before we can ponder the possibilities of this verse for our own lives, we need to observe why Joshua was where he was and what followed. We will also need to distinguish between him as a Jew in a physical land and us as Christians in a spiritual kingdom.

God had promised Abraham this land (Gen 12:7). He had also told Abraham that his immediate descendants would go to another country where they would be slaves and ill-treated for four hundred years (a round figure, not a specific one), and afterwards they would return to this land. Following the Exodus, and Israel‘s wilderness wanderings, the Lord led them again up to the border of the land which was inhabited by pagan worshippers who Israel is going to have to depose. The inhabitants of the land have three options: they can leave the land, they can join Israel and become God’s people, or they will die. Now the Lord promises Joshua that wherever he walks in this land will be his! So much for the past!

Briefly, to take the land, the people of Israel had to physically overcome the people of the land. From the book of Judges we see they never fully did this and so the Lord said those people would be a thorn in Israel ‘s side (Jud 2:2,3). Israel should have been able to live at peace in the land, but for a long time the remaining inhabitants spoilt that peace. So Joshua’s ‘walk’ through the land was to be a walk of occupation, taking ownership of the land.

Now how does this picture apply practically to us? We don’t have a physical land but we are part of the kingdom of God . What does that mean? It means we live under the reign of God over our lives. Physical land or physical space is not a matter of concern unless it is part of God’s will, part of His specific purpose for us, e.g. purchasing a piece of land on which to live, run a business or whatever, all under God’s guidance for our lives. Yet we can picture our lives as ‘the land’. When we came to Christ there is a new owner of ‘this land’ (my life) and a new power source has entered it – the Holy Spirit. Now for different Christians this now works in different ways, because we each come with different things to be ‘cleared out of the land’. Yes, when we receive the Holy Spirit when we become a Christian we receive this new power source and as we let Jesus guide us, he will enable us to ‘overcome’ these things that were perhaps habitual. For some people the change is instantaneous, this ‘taking the land’, and every step we take in the Christian life is a new, free walk.

For others, it seems, we have to battle with each old occupier of the land. For some it means fighting against the habit of swearing, for others against excessive alcohol use, for others the use of drugs, and so on. However, those are obvious occupants to be ousted. The less obvious ones are pride or arrogance, or thinking badly about specific people or groups, i.e. getting rid of prejudice or hostility. For some uncontrollable anger is the occupant to be ousted. For others, self reliance, or over independence are the occupants to be dealt with.

However, like Israel , we soon come to realise that we cannot do it on our own; we need God’s help. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to change us bit by bit into the likeness of Jesus (2 Cor 3:18), and our part is to set our hearts in the direction of His will, and to co-operate with Him and obey Him as He leads. As we do that He will show us the way to overcome and also give us the power to overcome. As we walk with God, each step we take is a part of the walk of ownership, as we take control of our lives.

Previously we had been swept along by our desires (Eph 2:3). Once the ‘land’ had been occupied by characteristics that were ungodly and unrighteous but now we have been given a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline (2 Tim 1:7). With this power and love flowing in us, we exercise self-discipline or self-control, the fruit of the Spirit working in us (Gal 5:23), and so with each step forward we take ownership of who God has designed us to be. Bit by bit we come more free and more fulfilled. Hallelujah!