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The issue of ‘gifts’ really seems like it should be a non-issue. If someone wants to give you something, the attitude of most people is ‘ok, so give it to me!’ We are either given something or not and that seems to be where most people leave the issue. I hear this logic applied to the issue of spiritual gifts or the promises of God in the Bible and see people trying to justify why some people are ‘given’ something and others are not. Could it be that there’s more to receiving a gift than simply waiting for your birthday to come around or for a person to put a box in your lap and unwrap it for you? What is our role in possessing what God is giving us? Now certainly, some people try too hard and attempt to pry things out of God’s hands. When you try and force the issue, you birth an Ishmael. That is not what I’m talking about. (Click here to read my post on this issue called ‘You Don’t Do A Promise, You Receive It’) However, sometimes you have to possess the very land that is being given to you…
God has been talking to me about this issue a lot lately. One of the reasons God has had to work with me on this is because I am one of those people that doesn’t want to presume. Presumption really bugs me. While I believe this is a good moral quality and a mannerly way to behave, sometimes it can become an invisible ‘seatbelt’ that keeps us from moving forward. When it comes to possessing something, you have to be able to move forward. Let me explain… God made a promise that He would give Abraham and His descendants the land of Cannan which was to become their everlasting possession. God would GIVE it to them. However, when they arrive and Joshua is being given instructions to go into the land, God has to tell Joshua and the people dozens of times to be ‘strong and courageous’. Why do they need strength or courage to receive a gift that God Himself is GIVING to them? Because part of them receiving the gift God had for them was that they had to take possession of it. Do you see the difference? It WAS a gift from God, promised to them and affirmed over and over in scripture but in order to receive the gift they had to MOVE INTO IT and push out the squatters on their land! This is where it starts challenging each of us. In order to receive the gift from God they had to position themselves to receive it!!!! (We don’t always feel like trying. Click here to read my post on how Being Authentic Might Be Ruining Your Life)
If you’ve ever been given property or an inheritance of any sort you know that it is not quite as easy as simply saying ‘thank you.’ No, you must go to the courthouse, fill out paperwork, wait on things in to come in the mail, argue with the guy on the phone, provide proof of identity and all sorts of stuff TO SIMPLY RECEIVE THE GIFT YOU WERE GIVEN! Now, surely God’s ways are much better than the convoluted systems of men, but the principle is very much the same. In order to receive certain gifts from God, gifts that He already has promised you and set aside for your benefit, you have to make some effort towards possessing those gifts. Simply holding out your hands and saying ‘thank you’ won’t be enough because there is an enemy that wants to steal it out of your hands as much as there is a loving God that wants you to have it. And here lies the challenge for those, like myself, that don’t want to presume. You have to take God at His Word that He wants you to have that gift and then you have to move forward in the process of possessing that gift. Just because it doesn’t come easily or instantly doesn’t mean God doesn’t want you to have it. If He promised it for you in His Word, then He has already said it is for you. However, you may have to displace the enemy that is trying to keep you from your inheritance. God will give you the grace and strength to do that but He will not do it for you. As Oswald Chambers has famously said, ‘We are in danger of forgetting that we cannot do what God does, and that God will not do what we can do.’
Possess the land. Receive the gift by displacing the enemy that is hoping you’ll give up on the promise. In doing so, don’t lose sight of the fact that God’s presence is the greatest prize. Never focus more on a certain ‘gift or blessing’ than you focus on The One who gives those gifts. As you keep your eyes on Him and allow His grace and strength to fill you, you’ll be able to possess that which He has already made available to you. Selah. (Click here to watch my message where I talk about God’s Presence Being the Prize)
“See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the LORD swore he would give to your fathers–to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob–and to their descendants after them.” – Deuteronomy 1:8 NIV
So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given you? – Joshua 18:3 NIV
We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. – Hebrews 6:11-12 NIV
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