POSSESS

“Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you…” - Joshua 1:3

POSSESS your possessions! God spoke these words to Joshua as he was leading the children of Israel into the promised land of Canaan. They show us a principle used by God as He gives us spiritual blessings, such as the Word of God, prayer, worship, spiritual community and many, many others. When He gives them to us we own them. But, according to the principle we learn from God’s dealings with Joshua, we do not possess them until we use them. Ephesians 1:3 makes this staggering revelation: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” The question is: how many of these blessings have you and I practically appropriated? To what extent have we truly possessed our possessions?

Many people own a Bible but they hardly read it. Some simply use their Bible like a ‘talisman,’ placed underneath their pillows, to assumedly drive away evil spirits! According to this principle they own but they do not possess their Bible. God has given every one the gift of prayer and other related spiritual weapons. He has given us access to what He calls “the throne of grace” from which He dispenses all kinds of blessings we do not earn, achieve or deserve (Heb.4:16). All we have to do is ask Him for those spiritual blessings, appropriate, and put them to use. Many Christians are oblivious of the existence and reality of that throne. Even worse, millions who know never approach that throne. James has a word for them: “You have not because you ask not” (Jam.4:2b).

The same can be said of faith, worship, spiritual fellowship and community with other believers, communion with God, forgiveness, the mercy of God that withholds what we deserve, and the grace of God that lavishes on us all kinds of blessings we don’t deserve.

The application of this principle Joshua learned from God is simply this: possess your possessions.