Year 1, Day 202: Joshua 17

Unable to Drive Them Out

Again in the middle of Joshua 17 we have a reminder of just how difficult the spiritual life is to obtain.  The Manassates are unable to drive out the Canaanites in their region as well.  Tribe after tribe is unable to purge the land and claim it completely.  It is a black spot upon the Hebrew people that will come back to haunt them.

But are we so different?  Christian after Christian is unable to do the same with respect to their spiritual life.  We cannot find the ability within us to put to death everything that is of this world so that Christ may fully live within us.  Remnants remain, and they will eventually get us into a heap of trouble.

This leads me to ask why this happens to be true.  Of course there are a variety of reasons.  We are not strong enough.  We are not motivated enough.  We are typically quite blind to sin until we are caught up in its effects.  There are no doubt other reasons.  But these reasons illustrate the truth that we find in the story of the allotment of Manasseh.  They say “We cannot defeat people who have iron chariots.”  Well, they are right.  But the truth is that they cannot defeat anybody on their own.  We cannot defeat the carnal within us if we think we are doing it on our own, either.

The Powerless Powerful

It’s only been a short time since the defeat of Jericho, Ai, and the rest of Canaan and they have already forgotten that they were victorious because God fought on their side!  The Canaanites might have had iron chariots, but truthfully what is an iron chariot against God?  Oh how the Manassates quickly devalued the presence of their God.

I am no different.  Sure, I love God.  Sure, I never openly forsake God.  But I still fall into the trap of thinking that I can do things on my own.  I still fall into the trap of judging what I can do based on my own power.  Oh how quickly I forget that it is the power of God that I should use as the basis of judging what is possible.

Sometimes the timing of God is amazing.  As I sit here typing this blog entry, I am listening to a Christian band called “The Letter Black.”  They have a song called “Believe.”  (Click on the link to hear the song via Youtube)  Here’s the chorus: 

“I’m not afraid anymore of what I don’t know.  Believe: I put my faith in Thee alone.  Believe: I put my hope in God alone.  Have faith in what you don’t know.”

That’s a message the Manassates could have used.  That’s a message that I can use from time to time, too.  How about you?  We are powerless when we rely upon our own strength.  But the powerless become powerful when we turn to God and rely upon Him.

There’s another lesson we can learn today from these Manassates.  Notice that they want more than one allotment.  So they ask for it.  But then they complain about the work that it would take to accomplish it.  The Manassates want the easy life!  I’m sure I don’t know how that feels!  {That was a joke, for those who thought I might be serious about not knowing how that feels.}

Far too often we can say all the right things.  We can say we want a relationship with God.  We can say that we want a deep spirituality.  We can say we want eternal life.  We can say that we want to disciple others and be strong in the Kingdom of God.

But when someone comes along and tells us just how much work all of that involves – do we do it?  Or do we complain?  Or do we try to find a shortcut and do some of the work but not all of it?  We ask for God’s great blessing; sometimes like the Manassates we ask for more than our allotment.  But do we want to work for it?  There’s a lesson I can sure stand to learn today.

Anyway, I hope this was a good day of devotion between you and God.  God’s peace with you.

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