If you’re anything like me, you can’t wait to break forth. For a lot of us, we’re anxiously awaiting that next new level in our lives e.g. developing that new business, ministry, starting that new relationship, making more money, finishing school, climbing the corporate ladder, having a baby, getting married, buying your first home, losing weight etc. For a lot of us, including myself, we’re actually awaiting a miracle to take place in certain areas of our lives. For most of us, God is either telling us NO or Not Yet. For most of us, that waiting process is killer to our souls. God wants to encourage us today.
Let’s look at Joshua 5:1-9,
“1 When all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings who lived along the Mediterranean coast[a] heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan River so the people of Israel could cross, they lost heart and were paralyzed with fear because of them.
2 At that time the Lord told Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise this second generation of Israelites.[b]” 3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the entire male population of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth.[c]
4 Joshua had to circumcise them because all the men who were old enough to fight in battle when they left Egypt had died in the wilderness. 5 Those who left Egypt had all been circumcised, but none of those born after the Exodus, during the years in the wilderness, had been circumcised. 6 The Israelites had traveled in the wilderness for forty years until all the men who were old enough to fight in battle when they left Egypt had died. For they had disobeyed the Lord, and the Lord vowed he would not let them enter the land he had sworn to give us—a land flowing with milk and honey. 7 So Joshua circumcised their sons—those who had grown up to take their fathers’ places—for they had not been circumcised on the way to the Promised Land. 8 After all the males had been circumcised, they rested in the camp until they were healed.
9 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the shame of your slavery in Egypt.” So that place has been called Gilgal[d] to this day.”
A couple of things The Lord pointed out to me in devotion,
- The older generation, who was delivered from Egypt, traveled in the wilderness for 40 years because in their heart, they refused to change. They murmured, complained, were bitter, stubborn, stiff necked, disobedient and hard hearted and their consequence, they never obtained the promise-land and died in the wilderness.
- The children of those that died we’re never circumcised when they were born, as was the custom at that time. Before they could enter the promise-land, The Lord required they be circumcised. Symbolically for us, circumcision is the cutting away of our former selves, our level of surrendering, dying to our flesh, our carnality, our past to be prepared for our next level in Him, a new anointing, a new level, our new promise-land in Christ.
- Included in this process of circumcision, before they could continue on their conquest to take over their promise-land, The Lord required a time of rest and healing.
- During this time of rest, healing and obedience, The Lord rolled away and removed the shame and disgrace of their past so they could appropriately fight and take hold of their promise.
Matthew 9:7 NLT says,
“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved.”
So for those of us that are awaiting that next level in life and in The Lord, if He’s telling us No or wait, He’s letting us know that we’re not ready for what we’re asking for and there needs to be a cutting away of the old, a time of circumcision in our hearts, a need for us to be cleaned up some more before we can appropriately take hold of another level.
If He’s telling us No or wait, He’s creating for us a moment in time to find rest and healing in Him before we go to the next level. If we actually take hold of the promise-land before we’re actually prepared for it, we could kill ourselves and destroy the promise.
The Lord wants to remind us today there’s richness and hidden treasures in our waiting and process. He wants us to exercise patience with Him and allow Him to finish the work. Once He’s done working on us, at any moment, our blessings will be released. Our charge this day is to be faithful while we’re waiting. As we wait in expectation, at any moment, what we’ve been waiting for, will come forth as pure gold.
Continue to join me as I share with you what Christ shares with me about overcoming. As always, Be Encouraged, Stay Connected, Fight and Let’s Become Free Together.
Wait by TD Jakes
Grace Digital
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3Y6CUQ8YAk
In His Name,
Ke’Shawn Adamson
B.O.O.M!
