“Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God. For if you turn back and cling to the remnant of these nations remaining among you and make marriages with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations before you, but they shall be a snare and a trap for you, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good ground that the Lord your God has given you.” (Joshua 23:11-12, ESV)
The end of the book of Joshua represents the pinnacle of both the physical and spiritual journey of the Nation of Israel. They had finally conquered the land of Canaan, and they were settling down on their God given land. Most importantly, they had been committed to following the Lord throughout the life of their leader, Joshua. However, the book of Judges (the sequel to Joshua) is one of the darkest books of the Bible because over the next several hundred years the nation of Israel became more and more mesmerized and enamored by idolatry. It all started with their disobedience when they didn’t drive out all of the nations from the land of Canaan. Eventually, they married foreigners who worshipped Baal, and they became Baal worshippers themselves until God kept his word and drove the Israelites out of the land.
When you look back on your Christian walk, is there a time that you reached an all-time-high in your relationship with God like the Israelites? Years after I started following God and as a young husband and father, I attended several Promise Keepers events. It was from these worshipful and instructional gatherings with thousands of other men that I truly feel in love with Jesus. However, after I returned home and was away from that highly emotional and encouraging environment, I lost my intimacy with God. It’s not that I did a lot of really terrable things. I just didn’t spend time with God, and as a result, I “fell out of love” with God. For the next several years, I rarely felt intimate with Him the way I that I once had. I longed to get back to that “peak relationship” with God so I could experience that joy and intimacy with Him daily. Finally, I was discipled to become more disciplined in my spiritual walk. I began practicing a dedicated Christian life. Soon, I was getting up in the morning and spending precious time with God in prayer and personal Bible study. This discipline helped me to fall back in love with God and His Word. With this renewed obedience, I’ve experienced more consistent spiritual growth ever since.
Thankfully, God is just waiting for us to take steps to get to know him. He hasn’t gone anywhere. He is not angry or disappointed. He is always with us. He is ready to pour his lavish love on us when we come to Him in our brokenness, confess our sins, and submit our hearts to Him and turn from sin. Today, spend time in prayer, thanking Jesus for dying on the cross for our sins. Start today asking God to keep you from “hitting a peak” spiritually and then losing your intimacy with Him. Ask Him to make you the man or woman or young person He created you to be!
Resources:
Spotlight.org – David Guzik’s commentary on Joshua
Ronmoore.org – Ron Moorre, Our Protector, Joshua 23 Devotional
Brandonweb.org – Brandon Web, The Danger of Complacency
Deeper In God’s Word
Tom Renew