READING: Joshua 22-24, Luke 9:28-62
It’s almost impossible to read the first part of Joshua 24 without seeing and hearing the pronoun “I” echo throughout the verses. “I” in this context refers to God, and the texts remind us of all the Lord did for His people:
- “But I took your father Abraham from the region beyond the Euphrates River, led him throughout the land of Canaan, and multiplied his descendants.” (Josh 24:3)
- “I gave him Isaac, and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave the hill country of Seir to Esau as a possession.” (Josh 24:3-4)
- “I sent Moses and Aaron, and I defeated Egypt by what I did within it, and afterward I brought you out.” (Josh 24:5)
- “. . . I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and you reached the Red Sea. . . .” (Josh 24:6)
- “Your own eyes saw what I did to Egypt.” (Josh 24:7)
- “Later, I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived beyond the Jordan. . . . I handed them over to you. . . . I annihilated them before you.” (Josh 24:8)
- “I would not listen to Balaam. Instead, he repeatedly blessed you, and I rescued you from him.” (Josh 24:10)
- “I handed them over to you.” (Josh 24:11)
- “I sent hornets ahead of you, and they drove out the two Amorite kings before you.” (Josh 24:12)
- “I gave you a land you did not labor for, and cities you did not build . . . .” (Josh 24:13)
The point is both simple and clear: everything the Hebrews ever accomplished – every victory they ever gained, every parcel of land they secured – they did because God did it for them. And, that’s still the case for us. God alone gets the glory for anything we are, anything we have, and anything we will accomplish. “I” should refer to Him in out lives, not to us
PRAYER: “God, You alone get all the glory.”
DAILY ACTION STEP: Throughout this day, don’t rob God of the credit for what He is accomplishing in your life. Choose to serve Him.
TOMORROW’S READING: Judges 1-3, Luke 10:1-24
