"Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, “Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’ ” (Joshua 1:10–11)
The wait was over for Israel. They had waited by the Jordan river for the last forty years, afraid to crossover into the Promised Land. Before that, they had waited for over 400 years in Egypt. Now, the time was up. The Lord commanded Joshua to get the people ready to move across the Jordan into the Promised Land.
Every endeavour that the Lord sends us on requires preparation. This is important because to ensure that we succeed in the assignments before us, we need to carefully consider what is required of us to start and complete that undertaking. Joshua and Israel had to prepare to enter the Promised Land. We prepare in the following ways:
Spiritual preparation. This is dedicating our hearts to the Lord. The word of God is our strength and guide for life’s journey. When we fill our hearts with His word, wait on the Holy Spirit and spend time hearing from Him, we prepare ourselves spiritually for what lies ahead. At the battle front, there will be no time to do these, so we must build ourselves up prior to the challenge so we are ready to apply ourselves as the situation demands.
Mental preparation. This is understanding the nature of the challenge before us. Some difficulties come as mental hurdles that we need to overcome. We may have doubts in our minds and lack clarity of thought to go in and possess what God is giving us. We may also be ignorant or deficient in our knowledge of what we seek to get into. We need to be mentally prepared just as much as we need spiritual preparation. Do not rush into the battle without mental preparation. Read and study about the area you are venturing into to gain a good grasp of it.
Material preparation. Make sure that the resources required to do the work are available. Joshua asked the people to prepare provisions for the journey. For them, provisions comprised weapons of war and food items. They needed to take these along because they were unaware of what they would face and what was available on the other side of the Jordan. They literally moved tents, pots and everything else to get to the Promised Land adequately prepared. Ask yourself what material preparations you need for the task ahead of you and make those necessary arrangements.
Regardless of how great the task ahead is, when you are spiritually, mentally and materially prepared, you can overcome the challenges and complete the assignment before you.
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