Morning by Morning, May 28 - No Treaties for False Peace
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Fill me with Your Spirit, conform me to Your nature, and lead me in Your ways. ...
"But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done in Jericho and to Ai, they on their part acted with cunning.... So the leaders took their provisions, and did not ask direction for the Lord. And Joshua made peace with them..." (Joshua 9:3-15).
In a prophetic picture of our journey with God into the fullness of our inheritance in Christ, You told Joshua and Your people to take possession of the land and none of their enemies would be able to stand against them (v. 1:4-6). But You also cautioned them to continuously seek Your leading and honor Your laws as they advanced into their destiny by the favor and grace of God (v. 1:7-9).
When they sought You and obeyed You, things went well for them. And when they did not, things did not go so well. When they encountered the Gibeonites, they failed to seek Your face and listen for Your voice; and they were deceived by their enemies into making a false peace. They found themselves with their hands tied by their compromise and treaty with their enemies, unable to drive them out of that area of their inheritance (v. 9:18-19).
All that happened to them is intended to be an example to us in our spiritual journey and our spiritual battles against our spiritual enemies that would keep us from possessing the fullness of Your promises and living into the fullness of our inheritance (1 Corinthians 10:6). So forgive us when we fail to seek Your direction and follow Your leading. Forgive us when we compromise with our enemies and fail to drive them from our lives, making a false peace that only ensnares us and entraps us from fully obeying You and keeps us from fully possessing all the promises we have in Christ.
Instead, help us be found faithful to seek Your face and follow Your will. Whether our spiritual enemies are our own flesh in the areas of our own hearts not yet willing to fully yield to the will and ways of God or the spiritual forces of evil coming to steal, kill, and destroy, let us not compromise or make treaties that only leave a false peace for the moment, while cheating us out of our inheritance. "Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, making holiness perfect in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 7:1). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
My Friend, may the Holy Spirit lead you always to seek the Lord's face and listen for the Lord's voice, protecting you from compromise with the enemies of our soul. May you live into the fullness of your inheritance in Christ. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257
