Consecrate yourself to God

“Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” Joshua 3:5 NIV

On the threshold of the Promised Land, God said to His people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” When you consecrate yourself to God, He will do things in you, with you, for you, and through you that will amaze you. We want to do amazing things for God, and that seems noble. But we’ve got it backwards. God wants to do amazing things for us. That’s His job, not ours. Our job is consecration. And consecration is more than going to church, keeping the Ten Commandments, tithing, sharing your faith, repeating the sinner’s prayer, volunteering for a ministry, raising your hands in worship, and going on a mission trip. All those are good things, but that isn’t consecration. The utensils used in temple worship were considered “consecrated.” In other words, they were set apart for the exclusive use of God. They were devoted to His service. Consecration means dethroning yourself and enthroning Jesus as Lord of your life. It’s the complete divestiture of all self-interest. It’s giving God veto power. It’s surrendering all of you to all of Him. It’s a simple recognition that every second of your time, every ounce of your energy, and every penny of your money is a gift from God and for God. Consecration is an ever-deepening love for Jesus, a childlike trust in your heavenly Father, and a blind obedience to the Holy Spirit. So the word for you today is—consecrate yourself to God.

Bible in a year: Song 1-3 and 2 Cor 8