And Joshua said, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you”

(Joshua 3:5).

 

Every day God manifests Himself, and most days we miss it. Clouded by secular cataracts, distracted by the barrenness of a busy life, we move through our schedules and wonder why God never seems to speak to us, why we never see His miraculous work in our family, why we never hear His call to the extraordinary.

Even the heavens declare God’s wonder with daily regularity, but for us it’s just a “nice night.” Our overcrowded souls have no room for wonder.

We are not ready for God. The first time the Israelites faced the Promised Land, their eyes were transfixed on the size of their enemy. Blinded by fear, they could not see the all-powerful God.

A whole generation missed the wonder. Wandering in the wilderness, they grumbled at Him the whole way for not helping them in their distress.

The second time around, Joshua made sure their children were prepared for God. “Consecrate yourselves,” he cried. “Cleanse your hearts and minds to see and follow the God who will walk among us and do wonders.”

One Sunday recently, two women, at separate times, approached me after the service with tears in their eyes. “This morning, in my time with God, He said [this and this]. When I came this morning, my heart was so full; and then you spoke on the exact same truth! God is speaking so strongly to me today!”

Another had been awake early that morning burdened for her daughter. She had been prompted to write her a long note to challenge her to follow God in a difficult time. “When you began to speak,” she said, “I began to weep—my daughter was right beside me, and she had read my letter before church—and your message was point by point exactly what I had been prompted to write.”

They were ready for God. It took time. They had made room in their day for Him early in the morning, while others had stayed up late the night before watching a movie or playing video games, then struggling to get up, coming late and tired to the service, plopping down in a chair, waking up in time for the closing prayer. For those it was just a “nice service.”

When you see a great Christian who always seems to be experiencing God in ways you are not, be assured they have paid a daily price to see God’s wonder. Not just in a day but through years of accumulated consecration, their hearts have been tuned and their eyes opened.

What would happen if an entire congregation “consecrated themselves” every Sunday morning and gathered ready to experience God? What if they did that every morning? What impossible walls would collapse if Christians in a city walked into every common day expecting God to do wonders around them?

The prepared Israelites watched God knock down an impregnable wall and bring unheard of victory—and this was just the beginning. For centuries we have learned the truth about God through them because they were ready and following the day He displayed His strength.

What testimonies are never heard through our lives? What stories of God’s greatness left untold? What never-to-be-repeated opportunities lost? What wonders are missed because we are simply not ready for God?