“43 So the Lord gave to Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. 44 And the Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the Lord helped them conquer all their enemies. 45Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true.”
– Joshua 21 : 43 - 45
As I read this paragraph in my bible this morning, each sentence seemed to just hit me, and thoughts started to flood my mind. Feeling like I just had to share what I was experiencing, I sent it to a few friends. Even as I did so, I knew I could not replicate the revelations I’d caught in my spirit in theirs, and I’d have to trust God for tailor-made revelations for each person, but something in those verses kept resonating with me, causing me to attempt to write this piece – and yet knowing that it’s almost impossible for me to put in words what I’m trying to get across.
Everyone around me at the moment seems to be going through some sort of transition and for a lot of us, this has involved a stepping into unfamiliar territories, finding ourselves in peculiar circumstances and having to do some things that we’ve never done before. While the process has been lengthier for some than it’s been for others, the general sense is that everyone has been going through somewhat of a process of their own for a while... much like the Israelites.
A summary of the Israelites’ story (as most will be familiar with) is that for some unknown reason, one day, God chose a man named Abram (whose name was eventually changed to Abraham), and made him a promise; one which included a gift of a vast piece of land (which incidentally belonged to some other clans at the time), to him and his offspring. Two generations later, Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel) was born and became the seed from whom the entire nation of Israel came forth.
Much time went by and at some point, the Israelites found themselves as slaves in Egypt. The promise of a land of their own must have felt like a remote dream to them at the time, but as God is faithful, He never forgot His promise and when He decided it was the right time, He brought them out of slavery with a strong hand and mighty displays of power.
