As the children of Israel prepared to cross the river Jordan and enter the promised land Joshua spoke unto the people saying, ”Ye have not passed this way heretofore. Sanctify yourself: for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”

We have just begun a new year and we too, have not passed this way heretofore. The advice Joshua gave to the children of Israel is certainly appropriate for us as we begin our journey through 1982.

We have never been in this year before and none of us know just what the Lord has in store for us in 1982. We hope it will be the year of the Lord’s return so that we, like the children of Israel, will cross over into the promised land. The thing we must do is to sanctify ourselves as Joshua advised. This we must do in 1982. If we truly sanctify ourselves right now, then the Lord will do wonders among us, right now.

The word sanctify means to dedicate, to set aside for holy use, and this is what we should be doing with our bodies and our lives right now. We have never been this way before so we need to dedicate ourselves this year to God, and just as soon as we do this, wonderful things begin to happen. We would like to turn the order around and have the Lord do wonders among us and then we might decide to sanctify ourselves. But it does not work this way.

God is waiting for us. If we draw nigh to Him, then He will draw nigh to us. We are to ”seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness;” then and only then will ”all these things be added unto us.”

Many times we suffer lack and do without when the Lord is just waiting to pour out showers of blessings upon us. The key to our success in ”passing this way” in 1982 is the word ”sanctify.” Joshua tells us to sanctify ourselves. When we become wholly dedicated to God, when we decide to live this year unto the Lord, then He responds by doing wonders for us. The wonders God will do for us will take many forms. To those on beds of pain it may be the strength to accept our infirmities and say with Paul, ”Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” Jesus, in speaking of the wonders that God will do for those who truly sanctify themselves and put God first in their lives, says ”he shall receive an hundred fold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.” It sounds almost too good to be true, but it is true. Showers of blessings, now in this time is what Jesus promised. God challenges us through Malachi to put Him first and He promises to ”open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”

The problem with most of us is we have trouble truly sanctifying ourselves, we have trouble letting go and letting God take over in our lives, we have trouble leaving ”houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for Jesus sake, and the gospels.” If we don’t put God first in our lives He is nowhere.

As we commence 1982 we have a choice of going ”this way” with God in front of us, or going it alone. God will not follow behind us.

As Joshua prepared to commence his journey God comforted him by saying, ”Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.’ God will be with us whithersoever we go if we will but sanctify and dedicate ourselves to Him. With the LORD doing wonders for us, what a wonderful year this will be!