“But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you; to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and all your soul.” Joshua 22:5
In order to give God all we have, let’s look at 3 key elements of Joshua 22:5 that will help to get us there:
1. Keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you
God wants to keep his law through his commandments. He gave them to us, so we can live long and prosperous lives. God knew that if we didn’t have laws in this world, the world would be corrupted. It would be without any morals or consequences for our actions. These laws were also made to protect us from each other and ultimately ourselves.
Women have control over a lot of things that go on in this world. I believe that a women’s voice or her opinions shape what men do in this world. From the influences of your mother, your sister, your wife or your daughter, women can cause men to do things that they may eventually regret. We all know the story of Adam and Eve and eating the forbidden fruit. Eve was the one to convince Adam to eat it after Satan tempted them. So breaking God’s commands existed then and it still exists today!
We have the power of persuasion. But we have to use it for positive and not for negative. If we find ourselves or our families going down the wrong roads of life, it’s our job to pray and ask God to help us get back on the right road. We should persuade our children to fear God in order to have good lives. This law of God was ultimately created for us to know Jesus Christ through faith. Galatians 3:23-24 says; “Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed.” So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.”
We are also to use the law lawfully. If we adhere to God’s laws and commands, then our life will be used for His will and not our own. 1 Timothy 1:8-10 says, “We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers, for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers – and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine.”
Christian people should have no problem adhering to God’s laws and commandments, because we are righteous people. We are not perfect and make plenty of mistakes. However, God has delivered us from sin through Jesus Christ and faith is now the key.
2. Love the Lord your God
We must love God unconditionally. Some of us only want to love God when it’s convenient. When things are going good and we have money in the bank; have a nice car to drive and a full tank of gas, we love God. When we have a nice home and a high paying job, when our husband or boyfriend takes care of us and our children are pleasant, we love God. When our health is great, no aches or pains, food on the table and it’s a bright, sunny day, we love God.
But don’t lose your job, your car breaks down or no gas to go anywhere, no steak in the fridge, or your house is in foreclosure. Your man disappears and your kids do too and your body starts aching and giving you problems. Where’s God? God was there when you were doing well and he’s there now when you perceive that your life is not. God doesn’t leave us. But we choose to leave him. It seems when we think we are doing bad or lose our possessions, we then call on God to help us. But God wants us to love him in good and bad times. Deuteronomy 6:5 says; “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
Our God is the only God we should worship. When we put all of our heart, soul and strength into other things or people, they will not last. God is a jealous God and wants us to put him first.
3. Serve God with all your heart
When we serve God, we have to give him everything. When we give him our hearts, it’s the best love we can give. And when you love someone you will do anything for them. God wants you to feel this way towards him, so you will also be obedient, joyful and willing to do what he wants you to do. Psalm 100:1-2 says, “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” You can’t serve God with a negative attitude or in a sad state of mind. Even when your mind and body feels somber, your attitude must change for the better, when serving God.
Our first priority should be to serve God. When you make God first, everything you need will be given to you. God wants us to be happy. And sometimes our happiness is not his happiness, because down the road it may cause us more harm than good. We can’t see around the corner or can predict our future. However, God knows and will protect us, even from ourselves. So we must learn to pray continuously and ask God to direct our paths at all times. Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” God clearly tells us what he wants us to do, so he can bless us. But it us up to us to follow.
We also have to realize that God is always looking to help us and care for us. He never sleeps and is always on duty. Our God is not a non-breathing, non-seeing, non-thinking; love-less, hateful or non-caring piece of stone. He is alive and well! For John 5:16-17 says, “So because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” He’s our Father, who loves and wants to constantly protect and teach us. We need to spread his goodness to a dying world on a daily basis.
Just as your earthly father may have taken care of you when you were a child, God takes care of you as well. Your earthly father guided you, taught you right from wrong and showed you the proper way of doing things. He punished you when you did wrong and praised you when right. But by the time you became grown and accomplished great things, he said good job, patted you on the back and made you feel validated.
Well, God is your heavenly Father, who feels the same way. He has that unconditional love that only a loving parent can give. God also showed you the proper way of doing things and punished you when you did wrong. Jesus gave you his grace and mercy when you didn’t deserve it. And even blessed you when you asked, by giving you the desires of your heart.
Now that you’re grown into one of his disciples, He will one day say, “Well done good and faithful servant – you have now been validated.” Amen
Let’s Talk & Pray!
What do you need to be free from today? If you are having a hard time surrendering everything to God, I would love to pray for you. Feel free to pray for each other, if your soul desires in the comments. If you would like to remain anonymous, it’s OK – Just simply submit a prayer request and we will go to God on your behalf! Scroll down to the bottom of this page and get started…
