Joshua 8:34-35 After that, he read out everything written in The Revelation, the blessing and the curse, everything in the Book of The Revelation. There wasn’t a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua didn’t read to the entire congregation—men, women, children, and foreigners who had been with them on the journey.

After Jericho and the crisis at Ai, where they first lost and then won, Joshua led the Israelites to Shechem. There were two mountains, namely Ebal and Gerizim. And this is no coincidence. A few months before this, Moses had said that the covenant must be renewed here and the blessing pronounced upon the people.

In a way, this was a stop and a refocus. The goal was not the promised land. The goal was to live in a relationship with God. Joshua read the blessings and punishments. It was important to realise that God did not only give promises.

God also gave boundaries which they had to obey. The Israelites heard again that obedience brought life and peace. However, the opposite was also true. Disobedience broke things and caused pain.

This has not changed at all. All of us have dreams, and there is nothing wrong with that. God dreams with us, but sometimes in the world’s pursuit and busyness, the dream shifts between God and us.

When the dream now becomes more important than God, you inevitably drift away from obedience, and things begin to go wrong.

Like Joshua, we must also regularly, actually daily, show up to God’s Word. In this turbulent world, we must intentionally seek the quiet to listen for God’s blessings and warnings, discovering anew how we ought to live.

Intimacy with God means we will seek places where we can withdraw from life and concentrate only on our relationship with God. So often we ask people how they’re doing, but sometimes we need to ask: “How are you and God doing?” Because this is where we can calm down and find guidance for our daily path.

Prayer
Father, glory to You. I want to be with You every moment of the day. Spirit of God, help me calm down and meet up with You regularly …

Questions
How often do I intentionally make time to listen to God’s Word?
What might have come between God and me without me realising it?
What does my relationship with God look like right now?

Do this now
Set aside 10 minutes today and purposefully read a passage from the Bible without any distractions.
Write down one thing God is showing you and how you can practically live it today.
Ask yourself honestly, “How are things going with me and God?” and make one small change to live closer to Him.