He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel.” (ESV)
Joshua 24:23
At the end of Joshua’s life and ministry he is recounting to the people of Israel all the goodness and kindness that the Lord God bestowed upon them by fulfilling each and every promise that he had made to them through the years. This recounting of the faithfulness of their loving God was given with a call to serve the Lord. The people with one voice committed to serving the Lord alone, but Joshua was hesitant to allow them to make this commitment. He even tells them that they are unable to serve the Lord! Yet, the people are adamant that they will serve the Lord. So Joshua gives them this command in verse 23, “Then put away the foreign Gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.” Our God is a holy God and his call upon our lives is to live a life of holiness. And Joshua is absolutely correct. In our own strength, we are unable to serve the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. But there is One in whose strength we can serve the Lord. It is only in our Holy Savior that we can ever hope to serve our Lord in holiness.
Joshua gave the people a command to simply do two things as they seek to serve the Lord God. First, they must put away their foreign Gods that are among them. How does this fit within the context and framework of my modern life? Simply put, I must not have a divided heart. Easy to say. Even easier to deceive myself into believing this is actually true in my heart. My heart is too easily distracted and divided. Those “foreign gods” are not just the easy to spot idols that I have erected in homage to my pride and arrogance. Those “foreign gods” are also the little deceptions that plague my heart. The simple lies that I tell myself in order to ease the guilt and shame of sin. The subtle ways that I give acknowledgement to God for the blessing that I worked so hard to procure. The many “righteous deeds” that I perform in order to win God’s favor and then use as a bargaining chip for answering prayers they way I want them answered.
My life is filled with so many “foreign gods” that I am unclear how I am to go about battling them all. The answer is the second part of Joshua’s command. He told them to incline their heart to the Lord. I am to put away those false idols that I have erected for my own security and stability and simply embrace the glorious richness of the grace and mercy of Christ. Do I believe the promises of Jesus? Do I truly believe John 8:31-32, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
I am already free in Christ, I must simply abide or as Joshua said, incline my heart. This is true rest in Jesus. The rest that the Israelites could have had in the Promised Land. True rest from striving to perform. True rest from trying to earn salvation. True rest and freedom is what Jesus promises to me as I throw off those false idols that are polluting my heart and cling to the mercy of Christ.
This is the simplicity of serving the Lord: I must have a singular focused, undistracted heart that is inclined and abiding in Jesus. It is to know one thing only. Just like Martha, I am often distracted with all the many ways that I can be serving Jesus, but what is needed in my life is to find rest at the feet of Jesus as I incline my heart toward his. He will make me know the truth and that truth has set me free. Free to love him as was intended from the very beginning. Free to love him as I was designed. Perfect unity and communion with my beautiful and loving Savior. Forever.