Joshua challenged some Israelites who grumbled for land insufficiency to summon the courage to depose more Canaanites and possess their lands – Afterall, God has promised them the entire location! The scripture reported,
“Then the children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given us only one lot and one share to inherit since we are a great people, inasmuch as the Lord has blessed us until now?” So Joshua answered them, “If you are a great people, then go up to the forest country and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and the giants, since the mountains of Ephraim are too confined for you.” But the children of Joseph said, “The mountain country is not enough for us; and all the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both those who are of Beth Shean and its towns and those who are of the Valley of Jezreel.” And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh—saying, “You are a great people and have great power; you shall not have only one lot, but the mountain country shall be yours. Although it is wooded, you shall cut it down, and its farthest extent shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots and are strong.” (Joshua 17:14-18).
Lesson:
Believers must understand that God’s blessings may not often come cheaply. Some efforts may be required from us to help God’s blessings activate and materialize in our lives. For example, when we pray for an increase in resources, Jehovah may decide to give us raw materials instead of a finished product. The effort would be left for us to take every necessary action needed to activate and process the resources until they become fully materialized. Surely, any crude material can turn around to become our refined benefits when we portray a good attitude and appropriately play our roles. Another example can be related to a few individuals that God has blessed with some special talents; they still need to drill and practice their skills until their natural gifts become admirable and turn into a full blessing.
Prayer:
Dear God, please give me the strength to apply wisdom to my Christian faith and do my due diligence for your blessings to fully materialize in my life. Help me to act in faith and take the steps needed to aid full materializations of the resources that you have invested in me. Empower me to drill and practice until my gifts and talents turn into full manifestation – for my benefit and your glorify. For in the name of Jesus Christ, I make my requests. Amen.