When Joshua was an old man, the Lord said to him,

“You are growing old, and much land remains to be conquered.”

JOSHUA 13:1 NLT

You have a lot of room to grow in communion with Me. Everything else is rubbish compared to the priceless gain of intimate relationship to Me. You have known Me a long time, but you still do not know Me like I would like you to. If you have prioritized anything above life’s noblest goal, now is the time to reorder your values. Trash all your trivial pursuits, and treasure friendship with your Creator.

You have plenty of room to grow in consecration. You have experienced a victory here and there over the years, but you still need to draw on more of the vitality of Christ’s resurrection in your everyday life. Experiencing His resurrection power will move you beyond easy street, dead-end ideas of your society. Before you can celebrate robust life, you must die to sin. Crucify your evil ways and count on My infinite power to vanquish every entrenched bad habit.

You have much room to grow in Christlikeness. You have followed Me fairly closely along the way, but you still need to concentrate on your supreme ambition—to humbly walk in the footsteps of Jesus in your attitudes and actions. Compare yourself with Me, and you will realize the chasm between your ideal self and the person you actually are. You have good intentions but do not always follow through. You become irritable when things do not go your way. You are sometimes judgmental, self-righteous, woebegone, proud, anxious, and egocentric. I know you like an open book. Yet I still love you, and I still have plans for you. Someday you will be like My Son; until then, follow His example. When you are tempted to quit the struggle, gaze on the mysterious figure on the cross and return to your assigned task. My fondest dream for you is that you become like Christ—I am using every circumstance to sculpt you into a replica of Perfection.

Much land in your life territory remains to be conquered—mountains of conceit, islands of selfishness, valleys of discouragement, rivers of impatience, plateaus of ritualism, and deserts of criticism. Claim all the promised land of the inheritance I have staked out for you!

With the single-mindedness of an Olympic athlete in training, focus on drawing nearer to Jesus. Reflect His likeness as you live out your God-designed identity. Go for the gold.

Do more than grow old—grow up!

Johnny R. Almond

Pastor, Hull’s Memorial Baptist Church – Friends on a Journey of Faith

Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity—book available on Amazon

http://GentleWhispersFromEternity–ScripturePersonalized.com/

This devotional based on day 115 of Gentle Whispers from Eternity