“Then Joshua said to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.'”
– Joshua 3:5
This has been one of my favorite verses in Joshua for most of my life. I remember hearing this verse read and thinking about it as a kid, thinking, “What a picture.” I didn’t even understand really the full context behind it is, is this was such a pivotal moment, pivotal day, among God’s people as they prepare to go into the promised land.
Consecrate Yourselves Before God
Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves,” like, “Lay your lives down before God, set apart your lives to him, completely, wholly, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” I remember just reading that and thinking, “I want to see wonders tomorrow. I want to see that like every day.” Don’t you? Don’t you want to see God do wonderful, supernatural work in your life, through your life, around you in the world every day?
Would we lay our lives before the Lord and long to see supernatural work in our lives and around our lives.
Don’t you want to see that tomorrow? Don’t you want to see that today? Consecrate yourselves, then lay your life down before the Lord, set your life before him wholly, completely surrender yourself to him.
Joshua 3:5 Leads Us to Pursue Holiness in Our Lives
Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you. God, we know this was a special moment in the history of your people and we praise you for the wonders you did as your people consecrated themselves and you led them across the Jordan River into promised land.
At the same time, oh God, we praise you that you, the same God who led them on that day, you are leading us today. You’re leading me in my life today. You’re leading each one of us who’s trusted in you today, so help us to live like this today and every day, but just to say this today, that our lives are yours.
Joshua 3:5 Leads Us to Lay Down Our Lives for the Nations
We lay our lives before you and we long to see supernatural work in our lives, through our lives and around us. We long to see people saved. And we long to see people growing in Christ. We long to see your spirit at work in wonderful ways in our lives. In our families, on our friends and the places where we work and the cities where we live.
Among the nations, God, we pray for wonders. For the spread of your grace and your gospel and your glory among the nations, we pray. God, we pray you help us. Oh, God, help us to consecrate ourselves every day that you might do wonders among, in, through, around us. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
