February 3, 2011
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Enjoy It…
I was reading through Joshua tonight in my New King James Version and enjoyed this verse…
Joshua 1:15 – “… then you shall return to the land of your possession and enjoy it…”
The root of that word is “possess” or “occupy” and that is what other versions use, but the King James and New King James saw the true purpose. So often in our walk with God we think of “possessing” or “occupying” or “taking care of” as something that is burdensome, but in the end necessary and for our own good. But that is a lie…
God told Adam in the Garden of Eden “to tend and keep it.” That sounds like labor, and yet the Garden of Eden was known as Paradise. I don’t believe Adam was some happy-go-lucky gardener that somehow took delight in sweating in the sun while digging and planting flowers. Rather Adam was right where God wanted him to be and hadn’t gone his own way, so the tending and the keeping of the garden was not a burden but rather a joy. I imagine the work came easy for him and there was a peace about it. It wasn’t until Adam disobeyed that curses came and the ground became hard and thorns and thistles grew.
Jesus redeemed us from every curse. Just like the Israelites, when we learn how to obey God’s leading and begin taking possession of God’s promises for us, we will truly learn how to rest and enjoy the Lord and what He has given us. God didn’t give the Israelites the Promised Land simply for them to work and labor in… He gave them the Promised Land as a blessing and as a place of rest for them. He gave them the Promised Land for them to enjoy.
Find rest and find joy in Him and in what He has blessed you with. God bless!
