LIVING WORD DEVOTIONAL
By Pastor Mensa Otabil
Wednesday 29th December 2021
LET US SANCTIFY OURSELVES
Scripture Reading: Joshua 3
And Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, “Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people. Joshua 3:5-6
As the day for the crossing of the Jordan approached, Joshua commanded the people to sanctify or set themselves apart for the Lord. The people would have had an easier task if He had commanded them to sharpen their swords or exercise their bodies ahead of the crossing. But Joshua recognized that the event ahead of them was more spiritual than physical. Spiritual preparation rather than military or physical preparation was needed at this time.
There is great value in setting goals as we approach a New Year. But the real preparation we must make towards 2022 is not carnal but spiritual. Every year presents us with days filled with many unknowns. There are spiritual battles to fight, negative thoughts and influences to resist, and several other experiences we cannot fully anticipate. It is for this reason that we must approach a New Year not just physically prepared but more so, spiritually.
As we prepare towards a New Year we need to sanctify ourselves to the Lord. That means purposely spending time with the Lord in prayer and staying in a spiritual mode. It involves examining our lives and committing to work on attitudes and habits that need to be changed, with God’s enablement.
But that was not all. The people of Israel were to expect God to work a miracle. They were to be eager and gripped by a sense of wonder. Israel was not to lose sight of their God who could do the incredible and the humanly impossible.
Similarly, we must be expectant for God to work miraculously on our behalf in this New Year.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, I set myself apart for you as we approach the New Year. My hope is in you, my eyes are on you; you are my help. In Jesus’ name, Amen