The Choice Is Yours

After Joshua had just lead the Israelites into the Promised Land of Canaan, he gathered all of the elders and leaders and recounted for them the amazing things that God had done for them since they had escaped from slavery in Egypt. At the end, he made this declaration:

“Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness.Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

Joshua 24:14-15

In today’s day and age, when it is becoming increasingly more common to be attacked for our faith, we are in a position much like that of the Israelites. Will we choose to “go with the flow” of the culture, or will we stand firm in our faith and cling to the foundation of God’s promises?

Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods! It was the Lord our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. And the LORD drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the LORD, because he is our God.”

Joshua 24:16-18

I hope that we will be able to echo those words of the Israelites from long ago, that we will boldly declare that no matter what the world says, we WILL serve the Lord!