A Season of Consecration
Joshua 3:5 (NIV) Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”
All throughout the season we have been in, and from multiple conversations I’ve had with people, I sense that this is a season of consecration in preparation for the season to come. That word – consecration – is the word Joshua used in his instructions to the Israelites as they prepared to cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land. They were about to step into a new season, a new reality, that God had promised to them. God was about to do some amazing, miraculous things, especially as the Israelites went into battle to claim the land as their own. But on the eve before they were to step into their spiritual calling and destiny, there was this call to consecration.
Consecration means to make holy. It means to set apart for a specific, sacred purpose. It means to make a conscious, willing decision to purify and to dedicate your heart, soul, mind, and body to our Heavenly Father. To be consecrated means you position yourself in the presence of the Lord with a surrendered heart, asking Him, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24).” It is coming to our Heavenly Father in humility and repentance, knowing that God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble (James 4:6).
I believe this is a season that God wants to do a deep work in each of us, a season of stronger humility and repentance. And I believe it is a season of resting in His presence as He shapes and molds us in preparation for the coming season. He wants to get us ready, which means addressing some things in us that we’ve either avoided on some level or have only partially dealt with. He’s going for the root of our sin and brokenness, desiring lasting transformation into His image. He wants us to consecrate ourselves, because tomorrow – the coming season – He will do amazing things among us.
Questions:
- What thing, or what area, in you do you know God wants to address that you’ve either avoided on some level or only partially dealt with?
- What needs to change in you in order to be fully consecrated for the coming season? What does our Heavenly Father need to do in you to get you ready?
Action Step: Make Psalm 139:23-24 your prayer this week, asking God to search you and to know your heart, to test you and to know your anxious thoughts. Ask Him to see if there is any offensive way in you, and to lead you in the way everlasting. Take time to listen to what He reveals to you, write it down, then dedicate time to spend with Him in that place of humility and repentance.
Worship Song: The Vow by Cody Carnes
