Further, Deeper and Higher

“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. And if it seems evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day that ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord… Joshua 24:14-15.”

In this passage, the life of Joshua, a mighty man of God, is ebbing away. He has seen it all; he grew up in Egypt and he and Caleb are the only ones to have been allowed to enter Canaan.

As the leader, it was Joshua’s role to say these things, indeed there is only one other who possibly could do this and that’s his good mate Caleb. Both were part of the twelve spies but unlike the other ten, they had the vision of God; they were the ones to believe and put their trust in God to assure victory.

This rallying call will be echoed down through the centuries. For example, you can hear Elijah saying it on Mount Carmel, David saying it to the Jewish People, and Jeremiah pleading with tears to the unbelieving Jews in Jerusalem.

Although the Israelites in Joshua’s day had conquered most of the Promised Land, they needed to know stagnation and standing still are not an option. As Joshua rightly points out, there is more land to be captured and more battles to be won.

Standing still in the Christian life is backsliding. There has to be no complacency. Just because you have served God and he has blessed you in the past is no guarantee for tomorrow.

We should make a daily decision to serve the Lord and put away any idols that stop us going further, deeper and higher with God. Like the Israelites, we have a choice and this is a daily choice.

The Children of Israel made a sweeping declaration that they would serve the Lord, but it didn’t last long. That is why every day, we commit anew.

Let us commit to go further, deeper and higher with God.

God bless you, Keith