Joshua 18

Don’t settle in the middle

Then Joshua said to the children of Israel: “How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers has given you?” ~Joshua 18:3

Have you ever known something was yours, but still found yourself waiting, hesitating, or putting it off? Not because you didn’t believe it, but because stepping into it felt overwhelming, too uncertain, or just not the right time. It’s a difficult place to be, standing between promise and possession.

In today’s scripture reading, the land had already been given, yet seven tribes were still sitting back, not moving forward. The promise was there, but they were not moving forward to take possession. Joshua’s question cuts right through that hesitation, how long will you wait?

As children of God today, we can find ourselves in that same place. We know what God has spoken, we sense what He’s calling us into, but something holds us back. Comfort, fear, doubt, or even distraction can keep us from stepping fully into what’s already been made available to us. It’s important to recognize that God’s promises require participation. He gives, but we must go.

Here are three truths from this chapter that help move us from waiting to walking.

1.Delayed obedience still keeps you stuck

The tribes weren’t denied the promise, they were delaying stepping into it. Waiting too long can start to feel normal and even comfortable, but it was never meant to be permanent.

In your daily life, this can show up in simple but significant ways. Maybe you feel God prompting you to start something, speak up, forgive, or take a step of faith, and instead you keep pushing it off. You tell yourself you’ll do it later, when things settle down or when you feel more ready.

For example, maybe you’ve felt led to spend more intentional time with God, but your schedule is too full, so you keep delaying it. Days turn into weeks, and before you know it, you’re still in the same place spiritually. When you choose to act, even in small ways, like getting up earlier to spend ten minutes in the morning in prayer, you begin to move forward again. Obedience breaks stagnation.

2.God has already made provision for what He promised

The land wasn’t something they had to earn, it had already been given by God. Their role was to go in and take possession of it.

As God’s children, we sometimes live like we have to fight for what God has already provided through His promises. Peace, purpose, direction, and identity are already available, but we have to step into them.  He has already made available everything we need to step into all that He has for us. In your current circumstances, you might be facing uncertainty, wondering how things will come together. Instead of striving, you begin to trust that God has already gone before you.

For example, if you’re stepping into a new opportunity and feel unprepared, you remind yourself that God wouldn’t lead you there without equipping you. So instead of shrinking back, you move forward, trusting that what you need will meet you along the way right when you need it.

3.Movement activates clarity

Joshua instructed them to go out, survey the land, and then come back. There was movement required before everything was fully laid out.

We often want full clarity before we take just one step, but God often reveals more as we go. Waiting for perfect understanding can keep you from starting. In your life, this might look like feeling unsure about a decision or direction. You keep waiting for a clear answer, but nothing seems to come.

For example, instead of staying stuck, you take a step. You explore the opportunity, have the conversation, or begin the process. As you move, doors open, direction becomes clearer, and confidence grows. God meets you in motion.

For me, there have been many times when I was hesitant to step out in faith. Most of the time it was because I wasn’t sure if I was truly being called, or it was something I didn’t think I was even interested in. One particular time stands out when an opportunity opened up at work. I was comfortable where I was and didn’t feel ready to take on more responsibility. Honestly, I didn’t even pray about it. I was content, so I turned it down and kept going right where I was.

About two weeks later, I started to notice something felt off. I wasn’t hearing the Holy Spirit in my heart as clearly as I usually did. That concerned me, so I finally took time to sit quietly with Him and ask why I felt so disconnected. As I pressed in and listened, He gently brought that opportunity back to my mind.

I had already moved on from it, thinking it was done, but clearly it wasn’t. In that moment, I realized my hesitation had caused me to miss something He was leading me into. So I talked with Him honestly. I asked for strength and grace to step into it if it was still the right timing. Deep down, I still wanted everything to feel secure before I moved. I kept waiting for the perfect moment, the perfect confirmation, the perfect sense of peace.

But that moment never came the way I expected. What did come was a gentle nudge to move forward anyway, one step at a time. So, even though I felt unsure I took one step, then another and as I moved, things began to come together in ways I couldn’t have planned. What once felt overwhelming became manageable, and what felt unclear became purposeful. God didn’t give me the whole picture at once, but He was faithful in every faith step I took.

Today I want to encourage you, don’t settle in the middle of what God has already given you. If He’s placed something in your heart, if He’s spoken a promise over your life, or if you know there’s a step you’ve been putting off, now is the time to move forward. You don’t have to have everything figured out. You just have to be willing to take the next step. God is already there, waiting to meet you in it.

Today’s scripture reading: Joshua 18

1 Now the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of meeting there. And the land was subdued before them. 

2 But there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes which had not yet received their inheritance.

3 Then Joshua said to the children of Israel: “How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers has given you? 

4 Pick out from among you three men for each tribe, and I will send them; they shall rise and go through the land, survey it according to their inheritance, and come back to me. 

5 And they shall divide it into seven parts. Judah shall remain in their territory on the south, and the house of Joseph shall remain in their territory on the north. 

6 You shall therefore survey the land in seven parts and bring the survey here to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the Lord our God. 

7 But the Levites have no part among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance. And Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan on the east, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.”

8 Then the men arose to go away; and Joshua charged those who went to survey the land, saying, “Go, walk through the land, survey it, and come back to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh.” 

9 So the men went, passed through the land, and wrote the survey in a book in seven parts by cities; and they came to Joshua at the camp in Shiloh. 

10 Then Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord, and there Joshua divided the land to the children of Israel according to their divisions.

11 Now the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families, and the territory of their lot came out between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph. 

12 Their border on the north side began at the Jordan, and the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north, and went up through the mountains westward; it ended at the Wilderness of Beth Aven. 

13 The border went over from there toward Luz, to the side of Luz (which is Bethel) southward; and the border descended to Ataroth Addar, near the hill that lies on the south side of Lower Beth Horon.

14 Then the border extended around the west side to the south, from the hill that lies before Beth Horon southward; and it ended at Kirjath Baal (which is Kirjath Jearim), a city of the children of Judah. This was the west side.

15 The south side began at the end of Kirjath Jearim, and the border extended on the west and went out to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah. 

16 Then the border came down to the end of the mountain that lies before the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is in the Valley of the Rephaim on the north, descended to the Valley of Hinnom, to the side of the Jebusite city on the south, and descended to En Rogel. 

17 And it went around from the north, went out to En Shemesh, and extended toward Geliloth, which is before the Ascent of Adummim, and descended to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. 

18 Then it passed along toward the north side of Arabah, and went down to Arabah. 

19 And the border passed along to the north side of Beth Hoglah; then the border ended at the north bay at the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the southern boundary.

20 The Jordan was its border on the east side. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin, according to its boundaries all around, according to their families.

21 Now the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, according to their families, were Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz, 

22 Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 

23 Avim, Parah, Ophrah, 

24 Chephar Haammoni, Ophni, and Gaba: twelve cities with their villages; 

25 Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 

26 Mizpah, Chephirah, Mozah, 

27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 

28 Zelah, Eleph, Jebus (which is Jerusalem), Gibeath, and Kirjath: fourteen cities with their villages. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families.

Journal:

• Where in my life have I been waiting instead of moving forward
• What step of obedience have I been putting off that I can take today
• How can I begin to trust that God has already provided what I need for this season

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