“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to
obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or
to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law
always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful
to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
Joshua 1:7-8
When I was in my early twenties I heard evangelist Stephen Manley at a revival
service in New York State. I will never forget the message he gave us there.
Manley began his sermon by asking for a volunteer and a teenage boy came to the
platform.
Our speaker poured water into a cup then held
it at arm’s length in front of him. “Okay son,” he said, “I want you to shake
my arm.” The boy did, timidly at first, but with the evangelist’s encouragement
he began to jiggle it fiercely. Water sloshed from side to side and splashed
onto the platform. Mr. Manley thanked the boy and as he was finding his seat,
the evangelist looked at us with dark penetrating eyes. “Why did water spill
from the cup?”
The crowd was silent at first then someone
finally spoke, “Because the boy shook your arm?” It seemed so obvious, but
Manley shook his head and repeated the question. “No, why did water spill from the cup?”
We strained to solve this apparent
brain teaser. There were a few more guesses, but we were dumbfounded. “Why did water spill from the glass?” he said
again emphasizing “water.” Oh of course! “Water
spilled from the cup, because there was water
inside it.” Profound simplicity.
He went on to explain that whatever we
fill our minds and hearts with is what will spill out of us whenever life
shakes us up. And it will. There’s no question, the heartaches and complexities
of this world will unsettle, unnerve, and disturb our peace. They will tempt us
to spill out words of rage, fear, despair, doubt, and to act in ways that dishonor
our Lord.
God knows this. That’s why He
instructed Joshua to fill up on His Word—to speak it out loud, to meditate
(ruminate) on it day and night. The key to changing what comes out is what we
put in. That’s how doubts become faith, fear turns to courage, and failures
become victories.
That’s why we memorize Bible verses. That’s
why songwriters put scriptural truths to music. So we can think it, speak it,
and walk in God’s ways. On your prayer walk today, sprinkle in some Bible
verses and sing God-songs to bolster your faith.
I did this today. I’ve been fighting a
cold for almost two weeks and I am weary. I just want to curl up in a snuggly
blanket but my schedule won’t allow it right now. I was feeling shaken this morning
and negative junk was coming out. Then I read a devotion that referred to the
old hymn “All the Way My Savior Leads Me” and I looked up the lyrics. Suddenly
I was singing and my spirit lifted into praise and peace.
His truth leads us to victory over the
enemy.
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil
with good.
Romans 12:21
#allthewaymysaviorleadsme
#yougetoutwhatyouputin #prayerwalking #spiritualwarfare #claimingterritory #halloween
#AllSaintsDay #Joshua1 #Rom12:21
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