READING: Joshua 22-24, Luke 3
“But you are to cling to the Lord your God.”
Joshua 23:8
It’s funny how the Lord teaches us stuff. Just before doing today’s reading, I was wrestling with a wrapped piece of cake that I really wanted to eat. It smelled good and looked good (as far as I could tell through the wrap), but I couldn’t open it. The wrap worked so incredibly well that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to get through it. I finally gave up and tossed the cake aside, at least until my impatient heart and hungry stomach were ready to try again . . . .
Not to my surprise, I learned that the wrap was called Glad ClingWrap – and I must say that the wrap deserved its name. Each section of the wrap connected so tightly with the rest of it that it seemed not even a molecule of air could have touched the cake. I’ve since learned that the wrap is so secure that it can be used to protect toiletries from leaking and to keep things in a drawer when moving. That’s serious cling!
Then, when I read Joshua’s words to God’s people, “But you are to cling to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day” (Josh. 23:8), those words leapt off the page to me. Some versions read, “hold fast to the Lord,” and the word carries a sense of “being glued to” or “cleaving.” In fact, the same word is used to describe the intimate, deep relationship between husband and wife in Genesis 2:24. Nothing is to come between them.
I can think of far too much today that gets between God and me. Pride. Fear. Lust. Anger. Frustration. Busyness. Work. Self-sufficiency. I could continue adding to the list, realizing that I don’t always cling to God like I should. The image of my wrapped sandwich, however, will likely stay with me a while. That’s the way I want to follow God: so desperately, dependently, and deeply clinging to Him that not even a molecule that displeases Him could ever enter my life.
ACTION STEPS:
- Make a list of the things that come between you and God. Confess them as needed.
- Cling to God today with all your heart.
PRAYER: “Lord, bring me to the place where I cling to You completely.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Judges 1-3, Luke 4:1-30