Dear church,

“… in all, thirty-one kings.” – Joshua 12:24

No king in Canaan could stand against the kingdom of God. Only one king remained after the conquest was completed, and that king was the God of Israel. When Jesus came, he first preached this: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). This is a call to surrender.

This teaches us something about humility. If I seek to create my own kingdom apart from the kingdom of God, I will be disappointed in the end. Like Rahab and the Gibeonites (Joshua 2; 9), salvation only comes when we pledge our allegiance to God and submit ourselves to his authority. We must see our inherent weakness in light of God’s majesty.

Have you humbled yourself before God? This means recognizing the kingdom you have built is woefully insufficient. We must understand the joy and peace we all want is not something we can build up on our own. We see God is the giver of these things, and instead of shutting the gates to our lives, we throw them open and ask God to come in.

Rid your life of any activity that cannot stand under the reign of God. Be harsh with yourself if you must. You can’t have any “hold-outs” within your life. Surrender completely to him. 

Chris