Pursuing Our Spiritual Promised Land
The promised land started with God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 15. That promised land became the pursuit of God’s men and women for many generations to come. In fact, God’s people attained the physical Promised Land long ago in the Old Testament book of Joshua. However, you and I pursue a spiritual promised land of our own.
Last week I talked about spiritual wholeness, which I ultimately believe is our spiritual promised land. Joshua 1:1-9 tells us details of God sending His people on a quest to attain their promised land. So I want to look at that and parallel their physical pursuit to our own spiritual pursuit.
God’s Promised Land To Us = Our Spiritual WHOLENESS
What we first must look at is the fact that healing is a prerequisite to wholeness. And that healing can be in various areas of our life. We are created to be physical, spiritual, emotional, and relational beings. And every one of those areas gets hurt, broken, or damaged in this life which positions us to need healing so that we can experience wholeness.
As I talked about last week, that healing and wholeness is experienced in a journey with Jesus. If you didn’t read my blog post last week, I encourage you to read it. I addressed the basic elements of what that journey looks like. Today, I want to take it a step further and get you to identify one specific area, you know you need healing in and haven’t experienced it to the degree that you believe you can or should or want to.
So Here Is The First Question.
What is the number one area when you believe you need the most healing or that is the most critical for you to experience healing? Do you need spiritual, physical, emotional, or relational healing? Are you in the midst of a broken relationship? Is your heart broken? Is your body sick?
· It is very important to identify the areas we need healing so we can consciously pursue God to get to our promised land.
Say it out loud or write it down. You need to know what you are seeking God to do in your life.
What is your past experience related to the area of healing? Is there anything in your past that is holding you back today?
When Paul in Philippians 3:12 talked about striving toward his perfected, completed self, he told us how he did that in Philippians 3:13.
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.
Philippians 3:13
Paul Said, “One Thing I Do”
What was his one thing?
Forgetting the past and reaching forward to what was ahead.
Now that sounds like two things, but in actuality, I think it is one, because he does both at the same time. As he is forgetting he is reaching and as he is reaching he is forgetting.
The problem for us with our past experiences related to our need for healing, is that the past whether good or bad keeps us chained to something that only lets us go so far before we are yanked backwards further from our God ordained future and promised land.
Now let’s take a look at Joshua 1:1-9 where God sets up His people to finally enter into their promised land.
After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke
to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, saying: Moses My servant is dead.
Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people,
to the land which I am giving to them – the children of Israel.
Joshua 1:1-2
Moses Represents Their Connection To The Past
Moses had been their leader for 40 years. Joshua and the Israelites experienced God because of his relationship with Moses. Moses died alone on the mountain with God. Their beloved leader did not come back and they had no closure. Moses represents their link to the past. It would have been so easy for the Israelites to stop right there and never move forward to the life God had for them.
Therefore, God says, “Moses, my servant is dead.” Joshua could have easily stayed linked to Moses’ memory and missed the Promised Land. Joshua needed to hear and understand that the link to the past was dead. God was doing something new and different than He had in those past 40 years. He was raising up a new leader to lead His people into the physical land He had promised hundreds of years before.
I believe for us to experience the future God has for us, we have to do like Paul and Joshua. We have to forget where we’ve been, what we’ve done, heard, and experienced and move forward into the future God has for us.
Just as Moses, the link to their past was dead, you need to understand that your link to the past is dead as well. I don’t know what that is for you. But I do know that our past, both good and bad, hinders us from our God ordained future. And the price we pray when we try to hold on to the past is way too high.
Our pasts and futures all look different, but wholeness is a part of every believer’s future who links to the truth of God’s word rather than the reality of their past.
Remember, through His word we walk in wisdom, power, and victory on a successful path to wholeness. Linked to God’s word keeps us connected to our God and what He can do.
