“Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. “ Joshua 1:8 NLT
If you have followed my blog or even checked it out recently, you will notice I have been MIA. I had lost my resolve. I did not spend time in the word one day and it led to 2. I tried to read some “plans” and I was reading good stuff, but I did not feel anything I desired to write about. Once again, I was going through my old bible to make sure I had the same verses highlighted, same words circled in my new bible. That is when this verse stood out above all others.
There are a few words that stand out to me;
–Continually, Joshua did not say when you feel like it or when it fits in your schedule. Dang, I guess all the time I have spent on my phone playing games could have been filled better.
–Meditate, while Joshua follows this with day and night, meditate is loaded with meaning to me. This word implies you are spending time absorbing something and not just read your bible in the morning and at bedtime and put it back on the shelf. It means I should let it seep fully into my soul.
-Okay, two words here, obey, not just consider the scriptures but submit to them. Everything is key as well; the Bible is not a menu and we can choose what to obey like it is ala carte.
-Only then will we flourish the way our Heavenly Father desires. We can obey some things and read our bibles sometimes, but it will not be until we do all these things that our life will prosper.
We all know this world is in a crazy place right now. We all have our opinions, however that is where an issue lies. The only way for me to have the right answers, is to be in the word continually, to really soak it up all day. I need to submit and obey ALL that the scriptures say, even when I do not want to. I could easily say well, that is not in my nature to be silent, I used to say that. On some level that may be true however, I know that I have been blessed with the fruits of the spirit, self-control being one of them. I may not want to hold my tongue, but the Holy Spirit will help me with that.
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