God’s Instructions on How to Use His Word to Walk in His Promises
David W Palmer
(Joshua 1:8–5:14 NKJV) “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe …” {13} … he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?” {14} So He said, “No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped …
Several hundred years after Abraham received God’s promise and picture, Joshua was the leader who led his descendants into the manifestation of that promise—the inheritance of the Promised Land with a multitude of Abraham and Sarah’s descendants. In this Scripture, we see that as Joshua obeyed God’s instructions in how to use the written word, a super-natural person materialised to him. This was not merely a “ghost” or “spirit apparition”; this was a real person of real authority who commanded a real army of supernatural warriors. These were the true victors and routers of God’s enemies—enabling Joshua and his generation to walk into what God had promised them 100’s of years earlier, through Abraham. How did this happen for Joshua? Can it happen for us too?
By the time Joshua did this, God had provided the written word through Moses—which included the promises God originally made to Abraham. Joshua had just received God’s written word—freshly completed by Moses—so he didn’t need a new promise. God had already given it to Abraham, and “it was [now] written.” What Joshua needed, however, was for God to give him instructions on how to use the written word in a way that would bring the promises into full realisation.
This was the first time anyone had an opportunity to use it as God designed. God instructed him to meditate on the written word day and night until he could “see” it. Then he would be able to do what he saw. Joshua did this, and succeeded in taking his generation into God’s promises for them—promises that had been around for some time, but were unrealised.
Recapping; God gave the promise and picture to Abraham—but he didn’t receive anywhere near the full materialization of it in his lifetime. God used Moses to convert the verbal promises to Logos—the written word. Yet, he couldn’t lead Abraham’s descendants into the promise either. Then God taught Joshua how to use the written word. By following that instruction, he was able to lead Abraham’s descendants through Israel into the Promised Land.
Let’s look again at what God said to Joshua:
(Joshua 1:3, 8–9 DKJV) “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that I have given to you, as I said to Moses ... {8} This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; but you shall meditate in it day and night that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. Then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (9) Have not I commanded you? Be strong and of a good courage. Do not be afraid, neither be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
By looking at the content of what God instructed Joshua, we see that he didn’t give his written word to be merely a list of commands that depend on human will. On the contrary, he gave it to be spiritual food to feed our spirits until our inner eye can “see” what is written.
Then, we can inherit what we see by first walking through it in the spirit realm. God gave the instruction to Joshua in a physical realm—“Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that I have given to you”—this is a picture for us of what he wants us to do in the spirit realm. He wants us to walk through it via an inward picture—touching it, feeling it, smelling and tasting it with our spirit man—literally experiencing it in the spirit realm. Next, we imitate in the natural what we have seen in the spirit—what has become Rhema (living word) to us and has generated fully assured faith of it being real and true. After this, the materialization of it will inevitably follow—by grace … if, like Jesus, we imitate what we see with him while in intimate communion with him in the spirit and while meditating on his word. This is because he loves us and will show us his intentions for us while in close communion with him:
(John 5:19–20 CEV) Jesus told the people: “I tell you for certain the Son cannot do anything on his own. He can do only what he sees the Father doing, and he does exactly what he sees the Father do. The Father loves the Son and has shown him everything he does. The Father will show him even greater things, and you will be amazed.”
Joshua had God’s original promise and the picture of stars and sand in the written word. Abraham had already exercised faith at that level. However, as Joshua meditated on God’s word, he received revelation by “seeing” the steps he would need to take to occupy the inheritance. God’s fresh promise was that if he could “see” every step of the whole Canaan conquest, if he could put his spiritual foot on it all in spiritual “seeing,” then he would occupy it in the natural realm.
This lines up exactly with Jesus’s way of operating; he only did what he saw with his Father (John 5:19–20). Jesus is the Living Word of God—the word of his grace (Acts 14:3; 20:32)—and he receives grace to do what he sees with his father. So when the word comes alive in us through meditating, taking heed, and valuing it; we too see things with the father, and then we can do them by grace. By this process, the living word is materialised into the natural realm, with his sword in hand.
The living word is powerful and fully authoritative; he is the supernatural person who materialised to help Joshua’s generation into their Promised Land, by leading God’s invincible army of indomitable warriors. And he is available to us now, through this same process, to help us walk into the fullness of God’s promises to us in the new creation.
How does this work specifically in the area of holiness? I believe we should value, desire, take heed to, and meditate in God’s word in areas relating to holiness until we can see ourselves doing it—until we can see ourselves being what it says, and living it. So how does all this work for us?
We could begin with promises like these:
(Romans 6:14 NKJV) For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
(Ephesians 4:32 NLT) Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
(Jude 1:24 NLT) Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault.
(1 John 2:3 NLT) And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments.
Even though our natural will-power will baulk at accepting what is written here—because it knows it doesn’t have the power to fulfil them completely—we need to receive them into our hearts. Once we accept that they are God’s word to us here and now, and once we commit to obeying them no matter what it costs us; then we can begin to meditate on them, while drawing close to God in loving intimate communion. As we do, after what may be an agonising period for our flesh and intellect, suddenly a picture of what God intends for us will start to show on the “screen” of our inner sight. Then it will become, not just more comfortable, but enthralling to watch and experience. If we stay with this spiritual picture, observing what he is showing us, it will become vividly real to us. After that, we, like Jesus, can imitate what we see, say what we hear, believe what is promised, or pull into the natural realm what God want’s materialised.
Truly, in this process …
(Mark 4:24–25 DKJV) … “Take heed what you are hearing. With whatever measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you that hear, more will be given. (25) For he that has, to him more will be given; and he that has not, from him will be taken even that which he has.”