So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you?” Joshua 18:3 

When a person is given a gift, he is expected to accept it and open it. Once it is opened, it is now in his possession. It no longer belongs to anyone else.

If the person does not accept and take the gift, it is not in his possession. He can lay no claim to the gift, even though it could be his.

God had given the land of Canaan to the Israelites. All they had to do was go in and take possession. Five of the tribes of Israel took possession immediately, while the other seven chose not take possession. Joshua asked the question of how long it would be before they would choose to take possession of the land God is giving them.

Although believers, today, do not usually receive a gift of land from God, they are given some other things to possess. God offers peace, love, provision, joy, forgiveness, patience and more.

The world believes that all they need to make it in this world is physical things. The more things that they have, the more successful they are. According to the world, the non-physical things are just secondary and not really necessary.

Although physical things, such as food, housing, transportation and clothing, are important, they are not the most important things in this life. Those things help to live in this life, but do no good in eternity. The things God provides are important to eternity.

It is common for believers to not take possession of the things of God that are most important. They are grabbing for the temporary things of this world.

God is handing you some spiritual land in your life. You have the choice to accept it or not. The joy and peace that you may be searching for have already been given to you. All you need to do is take possession of them.

Having the things of God will make this life much better and prepare you for eternity. Do not despise what God is handing you. Take time each day to grab a hold of the things of God that really matter. Don’t wait any longer.

As Joshua asked, how long will you wait to take possession of what God is giving you?

I pray today that you will know the gifts God is giving you; that you will know the value of God’s gifts; that God will reveal to you the best way; that you will possess the things of God; and that your life will like that of Jesus.