My Change of Position
July 13, 2008
Scripture:
Joshua 5:8 - “So it was, when they had finished circumcising all the people that they stayed in their places in the camp till they were healed.”
Synopsis:
God is a god of patterns, cycles and seasons, all of which are indicators of movement, change and progress. He is all about moving His people forward, onward and upward. Without movement there is no progress, no production, and no promotion which results in frustrated purpose. And there is nothing more frustrating than being stuck in a dead-end cycle or position with no hope of going forward. In these situations it is necessary to break out of our spiritual inertia by going through a season of being cut loose and healed from our past and all other things that are holding us back.
In today’s text the children of Israel, under Joshua’s leadership, had miraculously crossed the Jordan at flood stage. They were in the promise land and were eager to progress toward taking possession of what God had promised them. But before God unleashed them on the promise land, He needed to change their position so they could successfully take possession. He had to move them from being a people of broken promise to a people of covenant. Only people of covenant can successfully handle becoming possessors. God instructed Joshua to circumcise all of the people as a sign of remembering and re-establishing covenant with Him. This was necessary because these were the children of those who had broken covenant with God because of fear and disobedience. All they had ever known was the endless cycle of wandering with their parents in the wilderness. Before they faced the inhabitants of the promise land they needed to be cut loose and given time to heal from the ruined reputation and reproach of their parents.
So many believers are stuck in a wandering cycle of reproach because of their past. Many are being held back from their destiny by generational spirits brought on by the fear and disobedience of parents. The answer to changing their position is circumcision of the heart, cutting them loose from their past. Circumcision is not easy or comfortable because it hurts and requires being still long enough to heal and recover. But it is the only way to spiritual wholeness.
