ROLLING AWAY THE REPROACH

You may have heard the saying, "You can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy." It talks about something so ingrained in your life that no matter where you go it will always be a part of who you are. Sometimes this may be harmless and inconsequential, but when it comes to thoughts, feelings and hurt from our past, we need to be intentional about removing those from our heart if we want to ENTER IN to the life God has for us.

For Joshua and the Israelites, God knew they needed to remove the reproach from their hearts. The shame and pain they had carried from being slaves in Egypt and wanderers in the wilderness would hinder them from possessing the Promised Land if they didn't allow God to remove it. What do you need to let God remove in order to experience His promises in your life?

It's important to note that God deemed it so important that He caused Joshua and his people to stop - to pause - immediately after crossing the Jordan River, and roll away the reproach before continuing. There are some things you can't do along the journey and while God can always work through us, sometimes He wants to do a work in us, and that requires us to stop.

Pain from our past that we don't deal with will eventually cause our present to conform to that same past. It may not always be comfortable to have God remove the hurts of your past, but it will always be beneficial.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

What do you need to let God remove from your life?

Do you need to stop pushing forward in an area of your life in order to allow God to work within your heart?

What could life be like after God has rolled away that reproach?

PRAY:

God I don't want any hurt or shame or guilt from my past to hinder me from stepping in to Your promises. Today I pause and ask You to search my heart and work within me to remove anything that is holding me back. I trust You, Lord.