To Cleave Unto

“But take diligent heed  to do the commandment  and the law, which Moses  the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, and to cleave  unto him, and to serve  him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Joshua 22:5

The thing that stood out to me in this verse is “to cleave unto Him.”

Cleave -

1. to adhere closely; stick; cling (usually followed by to ).

2. to remain faithful (usually followed by to ): to cleave to one's principles in spite of persecution.

“To cleave unto Him and to serve Him with all of your heart and with all of your soul.”  Love has greater meaning when we sit at the foot of Jesus and contemplate these words in His presence.  To cleave…have I cleaved to Him the past few months when I’ve felt that things here are difficult, depressing, and discouraging?  Have I looked into His face and with my heart and soul clung to the hope that He will never fail me?  Have I seen that these difficulties are His purpose too?  Or have I not hoped in God but allowed sorrow and joylessness to pervade my heart?

The scripture says to take “diligent heed” to do His commandments and to love Him and cleave to Him and serve Him with all of our heart and soul.  When I look into His face, I see that He is faithful to me, that He wants that love and faithfulness returned to Him.  I see that He loves me and desires a love like that of a marriage – commitment, longing to please and serve Him, looking to Him for all things, remaining faithful in my heart and soul; not a wanderer, so that I may know His Love and remain in it.

To cleave....I am humbled today by this word and feel afresh His drawings to me and His desire for me.  I am thankful that His love is as real as this.  He calls for me.....just as the scripture says, "The Master has come and is calling for you."(John 11:28)

His Purpose Not Mine

John 6:38 – “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.”

Jesus was very clear on this very important matter.  He knew why He was there and He knew what He should do.  For in the very next verse it says, “And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up on the last day.”

Are we still mixing our purpose on this earth between His will and our will?  The world screams out to us on every level to “live in luxury”, “enjoy life”, “be happy”, “pamper yourself”, “be good to yourself”…self…self…self.  There is even a magazine entitled, “SELF” that you can buy and indulge in.

Are we as clear as Jesus was on the matter of our purpose here?  Are we devoted to that purpose?  To the person of Jesus Christ and the Father’s will for us here? 

I confess that sometimes this issue becomes clouded and I am caught between the two.  To live a dedicated life to Jesus Christ requires our all – all the time.  Sometimes we get weary, tired, troubled, and the world’s view looks a lot more inviting – “enjoy life,” “pamper yourself,” etc.  And you may find that you are suddenly there in your thought and desire and then just as swiftly, in comes confusion and you find yourself on the wrong track.  The track to self – the once clear pathway to God is clouded, misted by wandering thoughts, distractions, desires, etc.  And then in comes trouble to encourage us in a downward spiral, like a ram caught in a thicket while the enemy approaches; the enemy’s intent to kill and to destroy.  It is always the enemy’s intent to kill and to destroy – he has no other purpose and he does it with stealth, with craft, and deliberation.

I was looking at a picture of our granddaughter recently and my exact thoughts were, “How precious she is.”  Immediately a scripture came to my mind, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.”  Psalm 116:15 

How precious it is to the Lord when we are clearly walking in His will – dying to self, set apart to Himself, clear in our purpose – never wavering.  Paul was that way – doggedly pursuing that purpose with vigor.

It is always good to reevaluate.  The Lord Himself taught us to pray, “Our Father, who art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy Name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…” Amen.

“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done...”

Let this be our hearts charge and pursuit throughout our lives.  Engage in this purpose and in doing so, “be strong and of good courage” knowing that this is precious in the sight of the Lord and will also bring clarity, joy, and true enrichment for our souls.  For this purpose we were created.