Deuteronomy 1:8 – “See, I have placed the land before you; go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to them and their descendants after them.”  NASB

I am sometimes concerned that I and too many Christians fail to grasp our responsibility in the process of becoming all that God desires and acquiring His blessings and promises.  Too many seem to be like the song we used to sing in youth camps, “Here we sit like birds of a wilderness waiting to be fed.”  It was humorous as the kids waited for lunch to be served but in the Christian walk that is a faulty philosophy.

Here, God told Israel, “I have placed the land before you…”  We could render that, “I have set the Promises before you…”   God’s job is to make the objective, the promise, the provision available but it is not always a one-sided affair.  There is His part and our part.  He said to them, “…go in and possess the land.”  It is your responsibility and mine to appropriate the promises and press in, to the place of promise.

God gives us grace, authority, and power through the Holy Spirit and the Spiritual Weapons He has provided.  We are seated with Christ Jesus in the heavenly places.  John said, “as He is so are, we in this world.”  We have great and precious promises and weapons of warfare that are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.  It is our job to ‘bind the strongman’ and then spoil his house. 

Israel was given the title deed to the land by the owner of the land.  However, there were squatters on that land or promise that did not recognize God’s authority or ownership.  They were unwilling to vacate the premises simply because Israel declared that God had given them the inheritance.  No, they believed that possession was ownership and trusted their false gods or their own power.  Their view was the same as Pharaoh expressed in Exodus 5:2, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey?” 

We fail to possess the promises if we do not know the promises.  Hosea 4:6 declares, “My people perish because of a lack of knowledge.”  It is impossible to fully possess or press into what you do not know exists.  If you are like the birds in the wilderness waiting to be fed and waiting on God to do it, you may have a very long and disappointing wait.  Knowledge is powerful and inspirational.

We fail to possess the promises if we allow doubt, and unbelief to be the most prominent in our hearts.  If we see it as impossible, it is to us.  I like the rendering of Hebrews 6:12 (NCV) says, “do not… become lazy. Be like those who through faith and patience will receive what God has promised.”  We must not only know it in our minds but believe it in our hearts. It is through the heart that the mind is convinced.

We fail to possess the promises if we focus on the negative and speak other than what God declares.  We need to agree with God.  Paul told us in Romans 4:17 that we are to “call those things that are not as though they were.”  I am not saying engage in metaphysics or mind over matter but even though you do not see it in the natural if it is a Promise of God, declare it by faith.  You are not declaring it to make God do it but agreeing with God that that is reality not what you see with the natural eye.

We fail to possess the promises we allow fear to grip our hearts and paralyze us.  I love what the writer declares in Hebrews 10:23, “It is through faith and PATIENCE that we possess the promises of God.”  The enemy will try to steal your Promise, your Vision, and your Hope.  He will attempt to tempt you to give up and resign yourself to waiting on God rather than pursuing the Promises and Purposes God has set before you.  Galatians tells us that we are not to become weary in well doing for in due season (at the time of harvest) we will reap if we do not give up and quit.

Remember the account of the twelve spies and how the two, Joshua and Caleb believed God and saw the promises as possible rather than focusing on the obstacles.  It is time that you and I determine to cross over our Jordan (difficulty or obstacle) and Possess the Promise Land.  Never, never, never, never Give Up!

God bless you as you enjoy this wonderful day in Him!